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THE THEISTIC ARGUMENT AS AFFECTED BY RECENT THE- 
ORIES. A Course of Lectures delivered at the Lowell Institute in 
Boston. By J. Lewis Diman, D. D., Late Professor of History and 
Political Economy in Brown University. Edited by Prof. George P. 
Fisher, of Yale College. Crown 8vo, ^2.00. 



ORATIONS AND ESSAYS, WITH SELECTED PARISH SERMONS, 
By J. Lewis Diman, D. D. With a Commemorative Address by 
Prof. J. O. Murray, D. D. A Memorial Volume. With etched 
Portrait. 8vo, gilt top, $2.50. 

Contents : A Commemorative Discourse. J. Lewis Diman. By 
the Rev. J. O. Murray. Literary and Historical Addresses : The 
Alienation of the Ediicated Class from Politics; The Method of Aca- 
demic Culture * Address at the Unveiling of the Monument to Roger 
Williams in Providence; The Settlement of Mount Hope; Sir Henry 
Vane. — Reviews: Religion in America, 1776-1876; University Cor- 
porations. — Sermons : The Son of Man ; Christ, the Way, the Truth, 
and the Life ; Christ, the Bread of Life ; Christ in the Power of His 
Resurrection ; The Holy Spirit, the Guide to Truth ; The Baptism of 
the Holy Ghost ; The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Nature. 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY, 

BOSTON AND NEW YORK. 



MEMOIRS 



_y OF THE 



Rev. J. LEWIS DIMAN, D. D. 

I 

LATE PKOFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL 
ECONOMY IN BROWN UNIVERSITY 



COMPILED FROM 

HIS LETTERS, JOURNALS, AND WRITINGS, AND 
THE RECOLLECTIONS OF HIS FRIENDS 



BY 



CAROLINE HAZARD 







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BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

1887 



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Copyright, 1886, 
By CAROLINE HAZARD. 

AU rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge: 
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Co. 



/ 



PKEFACE. 



In preparing this volume I have been aided 
by many of Mr. Diman's friends, to whom my 
thanks are due, not only for the letters and 
recollections they have sent, but for much 
kindly encouragement and sympathy. Even 
where all that I received does not appear, it 
has still been most valuable in enlarging the 
field of choice, and in creating an atmosphere 
of loving remembrance to work in. To Presi- 
dent Angell I owe especial thanks ; and to 
that genial Critic, from whose suggestions 
the volume took final shape. 

" What any of us has consciously attempted 
or achieved is but a small part of his actual 
work," wrote Mr. Diman. The record of 
the events of his life can give only a partial 
and incomplete view of it. The little daily 



^^; 



/d^ 



vi PREFACE. 

courtesies, the constant overflow of a pure 
and scholarly spirit, the subtle graces of mind 
and manner that made the man, these defy 
analysis, and resent chronicle. 

C. H. 

Oakwoods, in Peace Dale, R. I. 
November 13, 1886. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Bristol. — Ancestry. — Birth, May 1, 1831. — Deacon 
Jeremiah Diman. — Hannah Luther. — Byron Di- 
man. — Abby Alden Wight. — Birthplace. — The 
King Philip. — Recollections by Miss Alden. — 
Childhood. — School. — Play. — Anecdotes. — Rec- 
ollections by Mrs. De Wolf. — Study. — Rainy Days. 

— Recollections by a Schoolmate. — The Meeting- 
House. — His "Call" 1 

CHAPTER II. 

School. — Home Influence. — First Commonplace Book. 

— Enters Brown University, 1847. — College Com- 
monplace Books. — Historical Reading. — Memoirs. 

— Poetry. — Religious Works. — Influence of Dr. 
Wayland. — Unites with the First Church of Bris- 
tol. — The Year's Reading. — Careful Habits. — 
Winter of 1849-50. — Latin and Greek. — English 
Literature. — French. — Philosophy. — Recollections 
by Professor George I. Chace. — Recollections by 
Judge H. B. Staples. — Butler's Analogy. — Recol- 
lections by Professor William Gammell. — Recollec- 
tions by Professor John L. Lincoln. — Letters. — 

To Rowland Hazard. — To James O. Murray . . 18 

CHAPTER IIL 

1851-1853. AET. 20-22. 
Graduation from Brown University. — Newport. — 
Letters to James B. Angell. — Study. — Practical 



VUl CONTENTS. 

Duties. — Distrust of Seminary Life. — Congre- 
gationalism. — Family Prayers. — Bible Class. — 
Asylum. — A Minister's Life. — Andover. — Plan of 
Study Abroad. — Difficulties. — Studies. — Recol- 
lections by Dr. James Gardiner Yose and Dr. Leon- 
ard Woolsey Bacon 42 

CHAPTER IV. 

1854^1855. AET. 23-24. 
Sailed for Europe. — Bremen. — Brunswick. — Halle. 

— Professor Tholuck. — Matriculation. — Erd- 
mann's Address. — Calls on Professors. — Lectures, 
Twenty a Week. — Tholuck as a Preacher. — Midler 
as a Lecturer. — Conversation with Tholuck. — " Old 
Year's Day." — Letter to his Father. — Mme. Leo. 

— Farewell to Halle. — Recollections by Rev. C. C. 
Tiffany 62 

CHAPTER V. 
1855-1856. AET. 24-25. 

Leipsic. — Dresden Gallery. — Nuremberg. — Munich. 

— Heidelberg. — Matriculation. — Lectures. — Ger- 
man Speculation. — Translation from Paul Gerhardt. 

— Calls on Bunsen. — Umbreit. — Reminiscences of 
Bunsen. — Switzerland. — Travel. — Berlin. — Lep- 
sius. — Althaus. — Nitzsch. — Trendelenburg. — 
First Sermon written. — Prayer-Meeting. — Strauss. 

— Recollections by Rev. C. C. Tiffany. — Travel. — 
Paris. — London. — Maurice. — Industrial Schools. 

— House of Commons. — Travel in England. — First 
Sermon preached. — Scotland. — Return Home . . 83 

CHAPTER VI. 

1856-1860. AET. 25-29. 
Licensed to preach by the Essex South Association. 

— Sorrow. — First Congregational Church in Fall 
River. — Letters to Miss Emily G. Stimson. — To 



CONTENTS. IX 

Kev. J. O. Murray. — To Dr. Shepard. — Calls to 
other Churches. — Correspondence with Dr. Horace 
Bushnell. — Call to Hartford declined. — To Rev. 
J. O. Murray. — Manner in the Pulpit. — Letters to 
Miss Emily G. Stimson. — State of Mind. — Human 
Destiny. — Dr. Bellows's Sermons. — Jacqueline Pas- 
cal. — Robertson. — Clarendon. — Theodore Parker. 

— Pascal. — Resignation of the Pastorate. — Death 

of Mr. Stimson 108 

CHAPTER VII. 

1860-1864. AET. 29-33. 

^ifarriage. — Harvard Congregational Church, Brook- 
line. — Examination. — View of the Atonement. — 
The Humanity of Christ. — The Incarnation. — Di- 
vine Life in Human Nature. — Statements of Truth. 

— The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. — The Council. 

— Letters to Dr. Rufus Ellis. — Dissension in the 
Church. — Letter to Henry W. Diman. — Comments 

of Professor George P. Fisher 131 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1864-1868. AET. 33-37. 

Providence Home. — College Work. — Public Lec- 
tures on Political Economy. — Letter to Rev. J. O. 
Murray. — Preaching. — Fourth-of-July Oration. — 
Letters to President Angell. — Vacation Trip to Chi- 
cago. — John Cotton's Reply to Roger Williams. — 
Letters to President Angell. — Discourse in Com- 
memoration of Professor Dunn. — Sunday Cars. — 
Sermons in Storms. — The Close of the Year . . 153 

CHAPTER IX. 
1868. AET. 37. 
Connection with the Providence Daily Journal. — Edi- 
torials. — English Politics. — German Politics. — 
Franco-Prussian War. — Reviews. — Religious and 



X CONTENTS. 

Educational Topics. — Fourth-of-Jiily, Thanksgiv- 
ing, and New Year's Articles. — Christmas . . 171 

CHAPTER X. 
1868,' AET. 37. 

Letters to President Angell. — Academic Duties. — 
Reading. — College Lecture. — Dictation. — Outline 
of Course of Study. — Saturday Questions. — Re- 
naissance. — Examination. — Modern History. — 
Constitution of the United States. — Recollections 
of the Class-Room 198 

CHAPTER XL 

1869-1871. AET. 38-40. 

Letter to President Angell. — Amherst Oration. — 
Preaching. — Letter to Miss Emerson. — Home Life. 

— Thanksgiving. — Letters to President Angell. — 
Offers of a Professorship in Harvard University. — 
Letters to President Eliot. — Offer declined. — Lec- 
ture. — Harvard again. — Degree of Doctor of Di- 
vinity. — Offer from Wisconsin of the Presidency of 
the State University. — School Board. — A Deer 
Hunt on the Raquette 228 

CHAPTER XII. 

1871-1875. AET. 40-44. 

Letters to President Angell. — New Lectures. — Arti- 
cles. — Offer from Princeton. — College Work. — 
Arlington Street Church, Boston. — Normal School. 

— Private Classes. — Plan defined. — Renaissance. 

— Lectures. — Manner of Lecturing. — Analysis of 
Lecture. — Outline of Succeeding Courses of Lec- 
tures. — Letters to President Angell. — The Thirty 
Years' War. — Gustavus Adolphus. — Simultaneous 
Courses. — Evening Classes. — The Friends' School . 254 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER XIII. 

1872-1876. AET. 41-45. 

Letters to President Angell. — Preaching in Hartford. 

— " George Fox Digg'd out of his Burrowes." — 
Election to Massachusetts Historical Society. — Eu- 
rope. — Letters to his Wife. — Letters to President 
Angell. — Offer of a Parish in Boston. — Letter to 
Dr. Ruf us Ellis. — Friday Evening Club. — Recollec- 
tions by Dr. S. L. Caldwell 276 

CHAPTER XIV. 

1877-1879. AET. 46-48. 

Oration at Cambridge. — Letter to President Angell. 

— Offer of a Professorship in the Johns Hopkins 
University. — North American Review. — Reform 
School. — Rhode Island Hospital. — The Capture of 
Prescott. — The Roger Williams Address. — Letters. 

— Address at the Opening of the Rogers Free 
Library in Bristol. — Bristol. — Commencement. — 
Letter to Mr. Augustus Lowell. — Letter to Presi- 
dent Oilman. — Accepts Invitation to deliver a 
Course of Lectures before the Lowell Institute. — 
Baltimore Lectures. — Preparation of Briefs. — Pres- 
ident Oilman on the Lectures. — Letters to Mrs. Di- 
man 303 

CHAPTER XV. 

1879-Feb. 3, 1881. aet. 48-49 and 9 months. 

Normal School Lectures. — Lowell Institute Lectures. 

— Preparation for them. — Pressure of Work. — 
Professor Fisher's Opinion of the Lectures. — Pro- 
fessor Chace's Opinion. — Mr. R. Hazard on the 



xii CONTENTS. 

Book. — Letter to President Angell. — Letter to 
President Gilman. — Lectures on Constitutional His- 
tory. — Trip to the Maine Woods. — Bi-Centennial 
Address at Bristol. — Political Speech. — Lectures 
on the Nineteenth Century. — Letters to President 
Gilman. — Last Letter to President Angell. — Lec- 
ture on Canning. — Illness. — Death . . . 323 

List of Publications 349 

Index 353 



TO THE MEMBERS OF MR. DIM AN' S HISTORY 

CLASSES. 

The radiant soul, whose life is here revealed^ 
Stands not, reserves cast off, as to confess. 
But clothed in robes of thought, the seemly dress 

Of gracious speech ; a radiance half concealed. 

The best and highest unto him appealed ; 
The inmost springs of life, the blessedness 
Were hid with God ; nor can the tongue express 

The secret poioer such souls as his can wield. 

Ye who that power have felt, vouchsafe to take 
This record of his earthly life now passed ; 

Once more loe hear his voice from silence break; 

From out the hush of years again it rings, 

And comfort, hope, endurance, courage brings. 
Aids to true life, which knows nor first nor last. 



MEMOIRS. 



CHAPTER I, 

Bristol. — Ancestry. — Birth, May 1, 1831. — Deacon Jere- 
miah Diman. — Hannah Luther. — Byron Diman. — Abby 
Alden Wight. — Birthplace. — The King Philip. — Rec- 
ollections by Miss Alden. — Childhood. — School. — Play. 

— Anecdotes. — Recollections by Mrs. De Wolf. — Study. 

— Rainy Days. — Recollections by a Schoolmate. — The 
Meeting-House. — His " Call." 

On the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, 
commanding an inner harbor, looking over the 
placid waters to Mount Hope, stands the old 
town of Bristol. Its wide streets, arched with 
stately trees, its spacious common, set apart 
at its foundation for public use, its fine pub- 
lic buildings, attest the liberality and love of 
its inhabitants. 

" Here we were born," says Mr. Diman, in 
his bi-centennial address ; " here by the fire- 
side we first heard the accents of affection ; 
here in the school-room we learned our earliest 
lessons ; here in the house of God we were 
taught the consoling truths that alone com- 
pensate for the losses which a dav like this 



2 MEMOIRS. 

brings so vividly to mind. A cloud of wit- 
nesses, invisible to mortal eye, look down 
upon us. There are no ties more sacred than 
those of which we are now reminded. We 
have come to the home of our childhood, to 
the graves of our fathers." Most binding 
were such ties upon such a man as Mr. Di- 
man, whose life began in this ancient town. 
His great-great-grandfather, " Jeremiah Diman 
came to Bristol from Easthampton, Long Isl- 
and, about the year 1730. The family was 
of French extraction, and up to the middle 
of the last century the name was usually 
spelled Dimont, or Diment. Dimon and Di- 
mond are more modern forms. It would 
seem that the name was originally Dumont, 
if it be true, as stated in the ^ Patronymica 
Britannica,' that in the parish register of 
Brenchley, Kent, it is recorded Hhat John 
Diamond, son of John du Mont, the French- 
man, was baptized in 1612.' The first of the 
name in this country was Thomas Dimoiit, 
who settled in Easthampton about 1656." ^ 
His grandson Thomas was the father of the 
first Jeremiah, who came to Bristol in 1730. 
Deacon Jeremiah Diman was grandson to this 

1 Transactions of the Rhode Island Society for Encouragement 
of Domestic Industry ^ 1865. 



ANCESTRY. 3 

first comer and grandfather to Jeremiah Lewis 
Diman, who was born May 1, 1831, in the 
town where for four generations his family 
had lived. This Deacon Jeremiah Diman 
seems to have been a man of remarkable pu- 
rity and sweetness of character. He was said 
to be " peculiarly mild in disposition, gentle 
in manners, and domestic in his habits. In 
his religious feelings he was uniformly medi- 
tative, peaceful, and abiding ; never excited, 
never depressed." He was born in 1767, and 
" carried a vivid recollection to his grave " of 
the struggle for independence. The burning 
of the Gaspee and the " wanton attack upon 
this quiet village, whereby many of its habi- 
tations were laid in ashes, and the families 
driven into the country for protection," made 
peculiar impression upon him, and we can 
fancy the tales his grandson must have heard 
from his lips. He was a great reader, with 
a good memory, fond of investigation and ar- 
gument, and was deacon of the Catholic Con- 
gregational Church for over twenty years. 

Hannah Luther, the wife of this worthy 
man, has also " left a most enviable record in 
her neighborhood." She was a grand-niece of 
Benjamin Franklin, as Frances Franklin, her 
grandmother, was sister of the philosopher. 



4 MEMOIRS. 

^^ She was a woman of strong character. 
Though ambitions and of a high spirit, she 
was contented in a retired life. Tall, with 
fair complexion, blue eyes, and auburn hair, 
she was said to look at seventy years more 
like a woman of thirty. She carried through 
life a great sorrow, the sudden death of a 
lovely son, — never mentioning his name to 
the end of her life. She was a careful reader 
of good books, and Vv^as noted as an excellent 
housekeeper and for her hospitality to all, par- 
ticularly to ministers and their families, and 
for her kindness to the poor and suffering." 

Their son Byron Diman, the father of J. 
Lewis Diman, inherited the strong character 
of his mother, and the vigorous mental traits 
of his father. " The most marked feature of 
his intellectual character," savs the writer of 
his obituary, " was his fondness for antiquarian 
lore. Possessing a wonderfully retentive mem- 
ory for dates and persons, he delighted to dis- 
cuss the days gone by and call back the men 
of a former generation. With him, it may be 
safely affirmed, perished one of the largest 
funds of local history possessed by any man 
of his time. Nor was his knowledge limited 
to local traditions. He was well versed in 
New England history and in the history of 



BYRON DIM AN. 5 

the Mother country, especially during the Com- 
monwealth. He was scarcely ever at fault in 
any statement of fact. A lighter side of his 
character was shown in his fondness for dra- 
matic literature and the English poets of the 
last century. In his younger days he had cul- 
tivated a talent for amateur acting, and his 
recitations were uncommonly effective. ... Of 
other more purely personal traits we may not 
here so freely speak, — of the unvarying sweet- 
ness of temper, the open hospitality, the benev- 
olence that never turned away from the claims 
of the destitute, the unwearied good offices that 
so much endeared him as neighbor and friend. 
He leaves not an enemy behind, and, to quote 
the words of one who has often opposed him 
in the stormy field of politics, ' He leaves be- 
hind him not one who in his lifetime has done 
so many kindly acts.' " 

He was for three years lieutenant-governor, 
and in 1846 was elected governor of Rhode 
Island. He married Abby Alden Wight, 
daughter of the minister of the Congrega- 
tional Church, who " served as surgeon in the 
Revolutionary war, and practiced both profes- 
sions in Bristol, trying to save the bodies as 
well as the souls of his people." The best 
blood in New England ran in this family. 



6 MEMOIRS. 

Mrs. Diman was seventh in descent from John 
Alden, of Mayflower fame, and also related 
to the Leonards. Her father's family came 
originally from the Isle of Wight, where, in 
Carisbrook, Cowes, and Rye, memorials of 
them may be found. Mrs. Diman was the 
beauty of the family, a woman of exquisite 
taste, and was called one of the handsomest 
women in Rhode Island. " She was a thor- 
oughly truthful person, — I mean in the 
sense of never appearing to be what she was 
not," writes her daughter. " Exceedingly 
modest and retiring, it was her only ambi- 
tion to be good and to do good. While 
looking well to the ways of her own house- 
hold, she was also most active in relieving 
personally the wants of the poor and suffer- 
ing. Her presence seemed to carry a benedic- 
tion with it. Though extremely delicate in 
health, with a buoyancy of spirit and cheer- 
fulness of disposition she accomplished a great 
deal." 

Of such parents, with such an ancestry of 
pure, pious people, was Jeremiah Lewis Diman 
born. In him all the virtues of the various 
lines seemed to unite. His noble bearing 
spoke of the sturdy Puritan ; his grace of 
manner, of his livelier French blood ; his phil- 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. 7 

osophic mind was the true descendant of the 
first American philosopher ; his tenderness, o£ 
his saintly mother. He was horn in the house 
standing on Hope Street, — a pleasant, square 
house, with wide hall running through it, 
from whose western windows the waters of 
the bay can be seen. " As soon as the little 
fellow could walk alone," writes his cousin, 
Miss A. F. Alden, " he climbed the garret 
stairs each morning to watch the King Philip 
enter the harbor, — the first steamboat that 
plied between Providence and Bristol. He 
never talked much about his pleasures, and 
his mother did not discover this daily pilgrim- 
age for some time." With what playful and 
tender feeling did Mr. Diman write of this 
steamer many years after ! — 

" The King Philip — shall we scruple to 
avow it ? — is linked with the earliest recollec- 
tions of our childhood. Well do we remem- 
ber how, at a time when we were still in frocks, 
— for infancy and childhood, gentle reader, 
lasted longer in those days than now, — we 
used to wait each morning to catch the first 
ringing of her silvery bell (the odious steam 
whistle had then no existence), and, climbing 
to an upper window, used to watch her bowl 
along, rolling huge breakers against the shore. 



8 MEMOIRS. 

Riiskin tells us that in all the visible creation 
there is no one object that yields such per- 
petual and ever fresh delight as the prow of 
a boat cleaving the glassy flood. Ah, with 
what raptures would the author of ' Modern 
Painters ' have gazed at the matchless stem of 
the King Philip as she used to glide of a calm 
summer morning into Bristol harbor ! Has 
life, think you, offered the lip any draught 
more pure and satisfying than that we so in- 
nocently tasted ? Let thy memory, then, ever 
be kept green, friend of our childhood, never 
again, alas, to delight our yearning sight ! 

" Last summer, by kind invitation of the 
owners, we w^ere of the large excursion party in 
one of the new boats that ply between Bristol 
and New York. Great ado has been made 
about them, and we do not deny that they are 
neat affairs, but what are they when compared 
with the paragon of naval architecture that 
used to delight our childish gaze ? With what 
awe, on rare occasions, we trod the narrow 
plank that afforded access to her deck ; with 
what terror we surveyed the lower depths, 
where unclean spirits fed the roaring furnace 
with logs of pine ; with what wonder we in- 
spected the machinery ; with what reverence 
we contemplated that model of fidelity and 



CHILDHOOD. 9 

promptness, the rough but kind-hearted Cap- 
tain Thomas Borden, as he stood beside the 
wheel and guided, with unerring skill, the 
obedient monster ! Somewhat Dutch she was 
in build, with her broad stern and swelling 
bow, but a right staunch craft, that did her 
duty well for many years. But our blessings 
are on her memory, not for her long and use- 
ful career, but for the un forgotten joy that 
she used to bring us each morning so many 
years ago." 

Miss Alden writes of his childhood, saying 
he always spoke of it as a singularly happy 
one. " Yet the young people of to-day, look- 
ing for a more vivid life and varied amuse- 
ments, would call it dull. When trusted to 
go abroad alone, a frequent pleasure was to 
visit his Diman grandparents. He would wan- 
der about the quiet house, where they were 
passing a lonely old age, and amuse himself 
with looking at the miscellaneous contents of 
an old-fashioned attic, especially a fine model 
of a sailing vessel. Yet he was not unsocial ; 
he played with other boys, and was always 
leader in every sport. Not that he claimed 
preeminence, or that they consciously yielded, 
but both parties accepted the position as inevi- 
table ; it was a matter of course, — ' the nat- 
ural way of living.' 



10 MEMOIRS. 

" Lewis's mother, a woman of rare beauty 
of person and of character, died when he was 
twelve years old. Her sister, Mrs. Alden, 
was with her during the lingering illness, and 
often spoke of Lewis's tender thoughtf ulness ; 
' it would have been remarkable,' she said, 
' in a girl, much more so in a boy.' He 
would sit by her bedside hour after hour, qui- 
etly fanning her, or talking with a gentle 
cheerfulness that never wearied the invalid. 

" Lewis always studied faithfully, was punc- 
tual, knew his lessons perfectly, yet he was 
not what is called a precocious boy. His 
growth was that of a young oak-tree, vigor- 
ous and symmetrical, and ^without observa- 
tion.' From his mother, Lewis inherited a 
certain delicacy of organization, a love of pu- 
rity, of order, of exactness. His aunt feared 
he had inherited a physical delicacy as well. 
He was not a robust lad ; yet he enjoyed out- 
door sports, skated well, was a good swimmer, 
took long walks, — in short, was no book- 
worm. Yet his happiest hours were spent in 
his father's library, a well-chosen but somewhat 
miscellaneous collection. As he came in from 
school at noon, he always rushed down cellar 
to get an apple, then to the library, where the 
pet cat was awaiting him ; with her on his 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 11 

knee, he ate the apple and read the morning 
paper with equal zest. This beloved cat must 
have a passing mention. Her name was 
Minna : her sister Brenda died young, and 
Lewis and little Henry took great pains with 
the funeral. He always kept a pet cat -, the 
friends of his manhood remember the quaint 
names he found for them. This enjoyment 
of feline companionship is often noted in schol- 
arly men. 

" When Lewis was yet a boy, he was walk- 
ing along a wharf one day, when he saw a 
little fellow fishing, who lost his balance and 
fell into the water. Lewis threw off shoes and 
jacket, and sprang in after him. With much 
difficulty he managed to swim to shallow water 
and drag the child up on shore ; then he went 
home, changed his clothes and said nothing. 
A few days afterwards, a woman rushed out of 
a house he was passing and overwhelmed him 
with angry reproaches for having nearly killed 
her boy. The little rascal had told her that 
Lewis Diman had pushed him off the wharf, 
and that he had scrambled out himself ! Lewis 
soon guessed that the boy had been forbidden 
to fish there, and had told this lie to escape 
punishment. So he made no explanation, and 
stood silent until the woman exhausted her 



12 MEMOIRS. 

wrath. In after years he told the story as an 
amusing instance of ingratitude. 

" One noteworthy work of Lewis's boyhood 
was writing ' The History of Bristol/ and 
publishing it in the weekly paper. The un- 
dertaking was, in itself, remarkable in a mere 
boy, still more so the careful exactness with 
which it was carried out. The town records 
were studied, nothing was set down on hear- 
say, so that this history may be reUed upon 
as authentic. The style was quiet and sim- 
ple, — no attempt at fine writing, such as 
young authors often indulge in. Those were 
happy years of quiet and yet enthusiastic 
study. Never was there a more manly, heal- 
thy nature, free from all morbid feeling. 
When he, a mere youth, made a public profes- 
sion of religion in the Congregational church 
at Bristol, R. I., the old pastor, who had 
known him from childhood, asked this strange 
question before the congregation : ' Do you 
trust for acceptance to your amiability and 
your remarkable natural qualities ? ' Lewis 
raised his head in surprise, and simply re- 
plied, ' I did not know, sir, that I had any 
such qualities.' Lewis's aunt, Mrs. Alden, 
who was at the head of Governor Diman's 
household for several years, often said that 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 13 

he was the best boy in the world, so nice in 
the care of his person and clothes, punctual 
at school, prompt to fulfill every duty, but she 
did not realise his remarkable intelligence, so 
gradually had it developed, so modest was his 
bearing. However, when Mr. Alden returned 
to Bristol in 1844, he recognized at once the 
lad's unusual ability. Lewis keenly enjoyed 
hearing from him of the wonders of Florence 
and Rome; he eagerly availed himself of his 
uncle's excellent library, and felt the stim- 
ulus of contact with a lover of learning, and 
an earnest disciple of Christ. In after years 
he spoke of this as an epoch in his Hfe, a 
quickening to new intellectual and spiritual 
growth. Unhappily, this friendship was of 
short duration ; Mr. Alden went to Pensacola, 
Fla., where he fell a victim to the yellow-fever 
epidemic of 1846. Lewis said nothing of his 
sorrow for the dead, or his affection for the 
living, but he was more tenderly thoughtful 
than ever of his aunt and cousins. 

" His friendship with the late Robert Rog- 
ers, of Papoosesquaw, was a part of Lewis's 
boyhood which must not be omitted. Mr. 
Rogers lent him books, and many a winter 
evening was pleasantly spent in discussing 
their contents. Lewis counted it as one of 



14 MEMOIRS. 

the felicities of his life, that in after years 
he could pay a heartfelt tribute of respect 
to the memory of his friend, at the dedica- 
tion of the Rogers Free Library, in Bristol. 

" This is the simple account of an unevent- 
ful and happy boyhood. Of Lewis, as of the 
Master whom he loved to follow, it may be 
said, ' he increased in wisdom and stature, 
and in favor with God and man.' " 

To these recollections of his childhood 
must be added a few details from his sis- 
ter. " I remember well the first time he was 
taken to school," she says, " how lustily he 
cried to be taken home and would not go 
wilHngly for some time. A short time after 
that, I can recall him sitting at a desk in 
his father's library, most cordially given up 
to him, poring over his lessons, — a straight, 
slight boy, of pale complexion, soft dark 
eyes, and wearing a riband around his head 
to keep his long light hair out of his eyes 
while studying. He was a great favorite and 
of much influence with his playmates ; at 
one time running a little post-office, editing 
a newspaper, then a debating club, literary 
societies of different kinds, etc. The scene 
of these important transactions was a little 
bit of a room near his father's back steps. 



HOME AMUSEMENTS. 15 

" Many a homely present did he receive from 
persons employed about the house, to whom 
he was always thoughtful and polite. He 
was very fond of pets, and would incommode 
himself to any degree to make them comfort- 
able. Very ingenious with tools, he made 
many a toy for the other children. The rainy 
days were red-letter days in the old house. 
Our mother would devote herself to us, and 
enter into whatever interested us ; hemming 
sails for the boys' boats, dressing dolls, mak- 
ing one of the little audience squeezed into a 
closet to see a magic lantern, and giving us a 
better lunch than usual. I know that it was 
an attractive place, from the number of neigh- 
bors' children that came tramping in, much 
to Polly's disgust, who wished, if folks had 
homes, that they knew enough to stay in them 
rainy days." 

" He was a bright, healthy, happy boy," 
writes an old schoolmate, who has now joined 
him, " better prepared with his lessons than 
most of us, but always ready for a game of 
ball, a. swim, or a frolic. In all those years I 
cannot remember seeing him angry. In fact, 
his good temper was sometimes exasperating 
to some of us, of more explosive tempera- 
ments ; and so he was the peacemaker among 
us." 



16 MEMOIRS. 

Some of the letters delivered through the 
post-office mentioned still remain. The fol- 
lowing notice to " W. De Wolf, Esq./' the 
school friend whose words were last quoted, 
is reproduced verbatim — the date is early in 
1842 : — 

Deir Sir — I take this opportunity to in- 
form you and Earl P. Bowin, that L. A. 
Bishop, and myself have been recently ap- 
pointed to the office of Post Masters in this 
town, and shall open the office on the 26 of 
this month. You may be assured that the 
office will be punctually attended to by my 
debuty. Yours J. Lewis Diman esq. 

Mr. Diman used laughingly to recall the 
beginning of this friendship, which dated 
from a round fisticuffs and bloody noses on 
both sides. 

Of his recollections of the old meeting- 
house, since changed to the Normal school, 
Mr. Diman said in his address on that occa- 
sion : — 

Many a time, before ever opening the pages 
of Euclid, had he solved the problem, on that 
centre-piece, that every point in the circum- 
ference was equi-distant from the centre. 
And often, too often, he had endeavored in 
vain to determine, by counting the number of 



HIS ''CALL:' 17 

paues of glass in one window, and multiplying 
by the number of windows, how many panes 
there were in the house. But other, and more 
sacred and thrilling, associations made this 
place ever dear and ever venerated. 

One story remains to be told, which gives 
the key to his whole life — his obedience and 
fearlessness in the performance of any duty. 
One summer Sunday afternoon, before he was 
four years old, he was taken to church, and 
seated near the door. He soon espied the 
family pew, where the other children were, 
and tripped quietly up the aisle, the little 
light head invisible above the tall pews. Just 
then the minister announced his text in a 
loud voice : " Jeremiah vii. chapter, 1st and 
2d verses : The word that came to Jeremiah 
from the Lord, saying. Stand in the gate of 
the Lord's house, and proclaim there this 
word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord." 
Thinking he was the Jeremiah addressed, the 
fearless boy walked on, and mounted the pul- 
pit stairs. There he paused, and turned and 
faced the congregation, his golden hair mak- 
ing a halo about his head. The older brother, 
who came to bring him down, whispered, 
" Where were you going ? " " He called 
me," answered the child. And the people 
smiled, and remembered it long afterward. 



CHAPTER II. 

School. — Home Influence. — First Commonplace Book. — 
Enters Brown University, 1847. — College Commonplace 
Books. — Historical Reading. — Memoirs. — Poetry. — 
Religious Works. — Influence of Dr. Wayland. — Unites 
with the First Church of Bristol. — The Year's Reading. 
— Careful Habits. — Winter of 1849-50. — Latin and 
Greek. — English Literature. — French. — Philosophy. — 
Recollections by Professor George I. Chace. — Recollec- 
tions by Judge H. B. Staples. — Butler's Analogy. — Rec- 
ollections by Professor William Gammell. — Recollections 
by Professor John L. Lincoln. — Letters. — To Rowland 
Hazard. — To James O. Murray. 

There were several schools in Bristol in 
the days of Mr. Diman's boyhood^ one of 
wiiich he positively refused to attend, reach- 
ing home again before his father, who had 
taken him to it. 

" But/' says Mrs. De\yolf, " as I look back 
I realize how much more we learned at home 
than at school. The children were taught 
to repeat long pieces of poetry, and the best 
books were bought for their home reading. 
Governor Diman's conversation was unusually 
instructive, and he was never happier than 
when surrounded by his children, answering 
their eager questions." 



ENTERS BROWN UNIVERSITY. 19 

In such a home the intellectual life of the 
children could not but be fostered. Mr. Di- 
man early committed his thoughts to paper. 
A little note-book, begun when he was only 
nine years old, is inscribed with his name, 
J. Lewis Diman, as he always wrote it, and 
in a flourishing boyish hand, "Aut Csesar 
aut nullus." It contains comments on vari- 
ous home matters such as would interest 
any boy, and a few jingling rhymes of his 
own construction, — almost his only efforts 
in that direction. The pamphlet, of about 
thirty pages, is filled, the handwriting grow- 
ing in evenness and nicety as the work pro- 
ceeds. 

In his sixteenth year (1847) he entered 
Brown University, having been prepared by 
the Rev. James N. Sykes, and took the first 
premium for Latin Composition in his en- 
trance examination. His ability as a scholar 
was immediately recognized, and classmates 
and professors united in honoring him. In 
1848 he began a commonplace book, which 
he continued throughout his college course, 
and which furnishes an interesting commen- 
tary upon it. These two volumes, filled with 
closely written pages, each extract numbered, 
often with cross references, show with what 



20 MEMOIRS. 

thoroughness and care he did his reading. 
Many of the extracts so completely express 
his own opinions and beliefs, that were the 
authors' names not given they would pass 
for his own utterances. So thoroughly did 
he assimilate these books that they became 
part of himself, and shaped and influenced 
his w^hole after thinking and life. Those 
who have heard his historical lectures will 
appreciate how thoroughly he believed this 
sentence of Macaulay's, Extract No. 5 : '^ He 
alone reads history aright who, observing how 
powerfully circumstances influence the feel- 
ings and affections of men, how often vices 
pass into virtues and paradoxes into axioms, 
learns to distinguish what is accidental and 
transitory in human nature from what is es- 
sential and immutable." Macaulay and d'Au- 
bigne were read with the greatest attention, 
as is proved from the number and length of 
the extracts. Most of the well-known sayings 
of Luther, — such as '^ The true well-being of 
a town, its security, its strength, is to num- 
ber within it many learned, serious, kind, and 
well - educated citizens," — the saying about 
the schoolmaster and music, and many others, 
are all written out here. In Luther's charac- 
ter he seems to have been deeply interested, 



COMMONPLACE BOOK. 21 

as the extracts from D'Aubigne relating to 
him are arranged to form almost a contin- 
uous narrative. 

Early in the book occur these lines from 
Young, which would well summarize his own 
life : — 

" That life is long which answers life's great end, 
The time that bears no fruit deserves no name ; 
The man of wisdom is the man of years." 

Lord Chesterfield's letters seem to have in- 
terested him, and, remembering his own ease 
and grace in society, who shall say that this 
sentence had no influence : " Manners, though 
the last, and it may be the least of real merit, 
are, however, far from being useless. . . . 
They adorn and give an additional force and 
lustre to both virtue and knowledge : they 
prepare and smooth the way for the progress 
of both, and are, I fear, with the bulk of 
mankind, more eng'aoino;' than either." 

For Memoirs Mr. Diman always had great 
fondness, and the commonplace book gives 
evidence that this branch of reading was not 
neglected, but had its place with more didactic 
studies. The life of Mrs. Godolphin, " who 
amidst all the corruptions of the court of 
Charles II. lived a most pure and holy life," 
and of Madame Catherine Andora, he writes 



22 MEMOIRS. 

about. This note is the first of his own, giv- 
ino^ a resume in a few words of the lives of 
these women, and their desire to enter a con- 
ventual life, and adding this significant ques- 
tion : " Do these facts rather show, that the 
general corruption was so great in those times 
as to prevent a Christian from living with any 
peace in the world, or do they show that these 
persons had very obscure notions of their du- 
ties to the world as Christians ? " 

It is impossible to turn over the pages of 
these books without feeling the stir and life of 
that rich young mind. Here are quotations, 
bearing on moral questions, on holiness, on 
the uses of life, and, side by side with these 
spiritual matters, discussions of the fine arts, 
of literature, of famous men and women, and, 
particularly, of history, to which more than a 
third of the extracts relate. " The remem- 
brance of the great past, the knowledge of its 
occurrences and spirit, is the only thing which 
can furnish us with a fair and quiet point of 
view from which to survey the present." All 
the variations on this theme are sounded, from 
essayists and philosophers. He who in later 
life did so much for the education of women, 
makes long quotations regarding the achieve- 
ments of the ladies of the sixteenth century. 



HISTORICAL READING. 23 

Nothing was more noticeable throughout his 
life than his friendship with many charming 
and clever women. An equal friendship it 
was, without frivolity, and his respect for 
woman's mind, capacity, and judgment, is 
early marked in these extracts. 

Toward the middle of the first volume a 
change in method is observable. He is not 
content with simply copying a passage that 
strikes him, but gives the context, or simis up 
an argument in his own words. A long note 
on Mohammedanism summarizes his reading 
on the subject in five separate works. This 
note is divided, and subdivided under two 
heads, and written in most clear and forcible 
style. To his historical reading about this 
time, he added poetry, especially Shakespeare, 
and Shelley. Hamlet, Two Gentlemen of Ve- 
rona, and the Merchant of Venice, were care- 
fully studied. For Shelley he always retained 
his early fondness and admiration. 

Works of a distinctly religious character 
also find large place. Archbishop Whately's 
Kingdom of Christ, an essay of D'Aubigne 
on Lutheranism and Calvinism, essays from 
the Edinburgh Review, and Eclectic Maga- 
zine, on the state of the Catholic Church, on 
Presbyterianism and kindred subjects, were 



24 MEMOIRS. 

carefully read and commented upon. His 
mind was apparently turning toward the min- 
istry, for after a note on the Rev. Mr. Bowie, 
who spent fourteen years in preparing a com- 
mentary on Don Quixote, occurs this remark : 
" One might imagine that a clergyman could 
find other duties to perform besides editing a 
novel." A complete analysis of the Epistle to 
the Romans, from Home's Introduction, was 
copied in full. Dr. Channing's Memoir was 
read, and Bushnell admired. 

About this time, 1848, there was a deep 
current of religious feeling in college, fostered 
and encouraged by President Way land, to 
whom so many of the students have acknowl- 
edged their debt of gratitude. Mr. Diman, 
writing years after, of the master he never 
ceased to venerate, speaks from his own ex- 
perience : " How the chapel would be hushed 
with the stillness of death at the Wednesday 
evening prayer meeting, as in tremulous ac- 
cents and voice sinking into a whisper, he 
would dwell on the dread responsibilities of 
the soul ! There was never any cant of stereo- 
typed exhortation, never any attempt to rouse 
any superficial emotion, but always direct ap- 
peal to conscience, and to all the highest in- 
stincts of youthful hearts. In this most diffi- 



INFLUENCE OF DR. WAYLAND. 25 

cult task of dealing with young men, at the 
crisis of their spiritual history, Dr. Wayland 
was unsurpassed. How wise and tender his 
counsels at such a time ! How many, who 
have timidly stolen to his study door, their 
souls burdened with strange thoughts, and 
bewildered with unaccustomed questionings, 
remember with what instant appreciation of 
their errand the green shade was lifted from 
the eye, the volume thrown aside, and with 
what genuine hearty interest the whole coun- 
tenance would beam. At such an interview 
he would often read the parable of the return- 
ing prodigal, and who that heard can ever 
forget the pathos with which he would dwell 
on the words." ^ There were long talks, and 
walks with some of his older student friends ; 
and the child who had been taken " into an 
upper chamber by his mother and there dedi- 
cated to God, to be used in his service, as He 
saw fit," now grown a youth, fulfilled the 
early promises, and made profession of his 
faith in the First Church of Bristol. 

But to return to the note-books. His year's 
reading had been Guizot, D'Aubigne, Carlyle, 
and Macaulay's Essays ; three or four volumes 
of memoirs; Dr. Johnson's Life and Works, 

1 The late President Wayland. Atlantic Monthly ^ Janu- 
ary, 1868. 



26 MEMOIRS. 

especially the " Vanity of Human Wishes," 
and " The Adventurer ; " sermons by several 
clergymen ; Whately's Kingdom of Christ ; 
and foF poetry, Spenser, Shakespeare, and 
Shelley. On these books there are one 
hundred and twenty-eight notes, eighty-nine 
closely- written pages. No wonder a classmate 
says, " His sophomoric essays were not the 
crude inflated productions handed in by most 
of us ; but even then gave evidence of matu- 
rity and polish, indicative of the elegant 
scholarship of after life." 

The careful habits of reading formed thus 
early Mr. Diman always retained. The page 
and chapter are noted ; if it is poetry the very 
line is given, as in this note, which embodies 
his own belief and practice. " If I remember 
rightly, Mr. Whipple in his remarks upon the 
nature of philosophical criticism observes, that 
to judge rightly one must participate some- 
what in the feeling of the author. The same 
idea is advanced by Pope, Essay on Criticism, 
line 233, etc. : 

* A perfect judge will read each work of wit 
With the same spirit that its author writ.' " 

In after life Mr. Diman used to amaze peo- 
ple with the accuracy of his knowledge of 
books. Here we see by what careful study 



INTEREST IN LATIN. 27 

that knowledge was acquired, for though the 
commonplace books were only kept a few 
years, the methods of reading continued. " A 
book is of no use," he would say, " unless 
you can find what you want in it." 

The winter of 1849-50 was a fruitful one. 
His Latin reading, with Professor Lincoln, 
seems to have been of interest to him. The 
commonplace book furnishes extracts from 
Cicero, De Natura Deorwn, and the analy- 
sis of the Ars Poetica, by Professor Lincoln, 
is copied in full. The Homeric Question also 
interested him. The views of conflicting au- 
thorities on the probability of the Iliad and 
the Odyssey being the work of the same man, 
are carefully collated. This essay of eight 
pages seems to be a resume of several of Pro- 
fessor Boise's lectures. 

Li English literature there is an analysis 
of the first book of Spenser's Faerie Queene, 
the story of each canto told in a short para- 
graph. " The Defence of Poesy," Burke's 
Essays, Grote's History of Greece, and Guizot 
in French, are among the books of the year. 
But Philosophy now demanded a large place. 
Cousin's Psychology and Kant began to be 
studied. It is of this period that Professor 
George I. Chace wrote, only a few weeks be- 
fore his death : 



28 MEMOIRS. 

" My attention was not especially drawn to 
him till the middle of his third year. I had 
previously had charge of his class in only one 
or two of the physical sciences. Although 
he made honorable attainments in them, and 
passed most creditably his examinations, I do 
not think his tastes and aptitudes lay particu- 
larly in that direction. 

" In the winter of 1849-50 I was asked bv 
him, with several other members of his class, 
if I would allow them to meet at my private 
room one evening every week, to pursue under 
my guidance certain metaphysical inquiries in 
which they felt a personal interest. As they 
were all earnest young men, of ingenious and 
bright minds, I most willingly, as may be sup- 
posed, granted their request. Bishop Butler's 
' Analogy of Natural and Revealed Religion 
to the Constitution and Course of Nature ' 
was chosen by them for reading and study, 
not so much as an authority, as because it 
treated of questions of the highest practical 
moment, which they were desirous of settling 
for themselves." 

" I remember that we sat in the dark. We 
imagined we could think more abstractedly 
in the dark," writes Judge Staples. 

" It was at the meetings of this voluntary 



PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 29 

class/' continues Prof. Chace, " that I first be- 
came aware of the metaphysical acumen of 
Mr. DimaUj of his power of analyzing complex 
conceptions, his sagacity in weighing the data 
yielded by such analysis, and his skill in em- 
ploying this data whether in building up 
arguments, or for the purposes of destructive 
criticism." 

The note-book contains an elaborate analy- 
sis of the " Philosophy of Immanuel Kant," 
and also notes on the natural proofs of the 
immortality of the soul, a condensation, ap- 
parently, of the studies of the private class 
with Professor Chace. The " Phaedo " of 
Plato is reviewed, and Bishop Butler's argu- 
ment given at length, and commented upon. 

"• Butler ended in leaving out of his argu- 
ment the moral nature of man and his ca- 
pacity for improvement. He also failed to 
perceive that the real question at issue is not 
whether the soul be naturally or essentially 
immortal, but whether He who formed the 
soul designs to continue it forever in being." 

So the last years in college went on. Dr. 
Arnold's " Lectures on Modern History " were 
read, more of Carlyle, and various discourses 
and essays. 

Mr. William Gammell, writing of Mr. Di- 
man's college life, says : — 



30 MEMOIRS. 

" The room in which he lived was very 
near my own^ and, according to the rules then 
existing, this fact placed him particularly un- 
der my official oversight and care, from the 
very beginning of his residence. He con- 
tinued to occupy the same room, I think, so 
long as he remained a student, so that my 
official relation to him in this respect con- 
tinued for four years. My personal interest 
in him was awakened very early after his res- 
idence began, by the fact that he was taken 
ill of typhoid fever, a malady which is always 
regarded with anxiety in a college. The case, 
however, proved not to be serious, but I re- 
member very well that his father and some 
members of his family came to watch over 
him. 

" It was in the middle of his second year 
in college that he came under my instruction 
in studies and exercises pertaining to rhetoric 
and English literature. This was a part of 
the college curriculum in which he was special- 
ly fitted to excel, for it was in accordance 
with the tastes and biases of his mind. He 
gave a ready and studious attention to all 
the appointed work, and, in addition, he read 
extensively and carefully the works of such 
authors as were commended to the study of 



COLLEGE LIFE. 31 

the class. I remember that he often came to 
me for special advice as to the books he 
should read^ and as to the sources of informa- 
tion relating to their authors. His literary 
exercises were always prepared with more than 
usual care, and he early acquired the rudi- 
ments of that direct and lucid English style, 
of which he afterwards became an acknowl- 
edged master. The study of modern history, 
also had, a few years before, become connected 
with that of English literature, though it had 
not then been made a separate department of 
instruction in any American college. To this 
new study Mr. Diman devoted himself with 
an interest, and assiduity, that unquestionably 
performed their part in preparing him for the 
pursuits, to which his later years were so use- 
fully and honorably devoted. Much of the 
work thus done was wholly voluntary on the 
part of those who were engaged in it, and I 
well remember that Mr. Diman and many oth- 
ers of the class of 1851 performed this volun- 
tary work in a manner, and with a spirit, which 
did much to hasten the creation of the sep- 
arate department of history and political econ- 
omy, that was very soon afterwards called into 
existence. He graduated with distinguished 
rank in his class, and spoke at Commence- 



32 MEMOIRS. 

ment the Classical Oration, the subject being 
' The Living Principle of Literature.' He 
thus closed his college residence, and bore 
awPtj with him a manly character, a scholarly 
spirit, and an intellectual and spiritual culture 
which afforded the best possible presage of 
a career of usefulness and honor." 

To the recollections of Mr. Gammell, Pro- 
fessor John L. Lincoln adds his remembrance 
of Mr. Diman's classical studies. 

" He was in my Latin class during the 
whole of the Freshman year, and then for 
two terms of the Sophomore and two of the 
Junior year. He was well prepared for col- 
lege, especially in Greek, and for excellence 
in this study he won the second of the ' Pres- 
ident's Premiums.' In Latin he did not reach 
very high rank the first term, nor did he early 
in the course show signs of remarkable quick- 
ness or facility of attainment, or make very 
rapid progress. But, from the beginning, he 
had a studious, earnest manner, and a way 
of settling down to a thing to be done, and 
a quiet persistence in doing it well, and in a 
well ordered method. I think of him as being 
in those days intelligent and thoughtful rather 
than brilliant, or ambitious of being thought 
brilliant ; but he was emulous of excellence, 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 33 

though not impatient about winning it. I 
have looked up his record since I began to 
write, and I see that he always went forward, 
never backward ; his progress was steady and 
continuous, and at the end he reached nearly 
the maximum mark of attainment. He had 
no special aptitude for the philological, or, 
as we say now, the scientific side, of classical 
studies, but yet he was apt in seeking and 
getting the sense of a passage, and the real 
meaning of the author, and in apprehending 
and feeling the force of his words, and dis- 
covering the qualities of his style, and his 
merits as a thinker, and a writer. I do not 
remember that he showed a preference for 
particular writers, or for either poets or prose 
writers ; but he was sensitive to whatever was 
good in all good letters, to whatever was beau- 
tiful and noble in sentiment or expression, or 
valuable in knowledge, especially in such 
knowledge of human nature, and human life, 
as belongs to all genuine literature. His style 
of recitation was scholarly, such as is the out- 
come of a studious spirit and habit ; the ap- 
prehension of the thought, and the correct- 
ness or felicity of expression, in the rendering 
of a passage, came quite as much from habitual 
effort and practice, as from fortunate natural 



34 MEMOIRS. 

endowments. It was by assiduous application 
that he made his daily studies means of his 
culture, and of these studies the Greek and 
the Latin doubtless contributed an important 
share of educating influence. Probably my 
conversations with him in later years suggest 
this last remark, quite as much as my remem- 
brances of him as an under-graduate student. 
In one of the latest of these conversations, he 
spoke of the peculiarities of Juvenal as a satir- 
ist, and, much to my surprise, quoted a pas- 
sage from a college lecture on that poet, which 
I might have naturally supposed he had long 
forgotten. In what I have now said I have 
spoken of those college studies of Professor 
Diman of which I had more direct knowl- 
edge ; there was, however, so far as I remem- 
ber, no indication that they might ever be- 
come with him professional studies, or directly 
determine the profession which he would 
choose. The same may be said, indeed, of 
other studies, as intellectual and moral phi- 
losophy, in which he excelled in college, and 
even of historical studies, in which he after- 
wards rose to such marked distinction. But 
it may be said with certainty, that while he 
attained high rank in all departments of the 
college course, yet his prevailing tastes and 



LETTERS. 35 

tendencies, as well as his best work, showed 
themselves in literary rather than in scientific 
studies ; and at his graduation, when upon the 
Commencement stage he delivered the Classi- 
cal Oration on ' The Living Principle of Lit- 
erature,' it was clear enough that, whatever 
might be his professional pursuits, he would 
be distinguished as a literary man." 

A few letters of this period complete the 
story of those college days, so far as it is 
possible to tell it. " He was not a very good 
correspondent," writes President J. B. Angell, 
to whom he wrote more letters than to any of 
his friends, " that is, he did not write often, 
and his letters were brief. He seldom opened, 
in letters, into those rich veins to which con- 
fidential conversation led him. There was 
often a bright touch of his quaint humor, but 
he rarely discussed questions." 

The first letter bears the date of Bristol, 
December 14, 1849, a simple note accepting a 
Christmas invitation to Narragansett. 

" Over a turkey fattened upon grasshoppers 
alone, we shall possess peculiar advantages 
for discussing the long-vexed question, relative 
to the real existence of matter. You remem- 
ber I used to be more than half a convert to 
your \dews ; I must confess however that an 



36 MEMOIRS. 

unlucky blow which my nasal prominence re- 
ceived last summer, nearly put my skepticism 
to flight." 

To the same friend, Rowland Hazard, he 
writes : — 

Bristol, February 27, 1851. 

Now that there is so much agitation here 
on the subject of slavery, I should like ex- 
ceedingly to see the practical workings of it 
for myself. Are your own impressions made 
any more favorable by your Southern tour? 
It seems to me that the feeling at the North 
must grow stronger, and stronger, every day. 
All sensible men, of course, repudiate any re- 
sistance to the laws, but whenever any new 
fugitive is arrested to be carried back to bond- 
age, they feel more and more disgusted with 
a system which requires such measures for its 
support. An effort was made in our legisla- 
ture a few days ago, to pass a resolution di- 
recting the attorney-general to defend at the 
cost of the State, any person who might be 
arrested on charge of being a fugitive slave, 
but it did not succeed. 

I often think, my dear R., of the times 
when we used to meet together in our college 
prayer meetings, and they seem to me doubly 
dear, now that I am about to be deprived of 



LETTER TO J. 0. MURRAY. 37 

them. I can hardly realize that after one 
more term is passed, my college days will be 
ended. Like yourself I constantly experience 
the sorrowful reflection, that I have done but 
little in the cause of my Redeemer. It is 
now just three years, since I arrived at my 
determination to give up all for Christ, and I 
feel as I look back upon them, that I have mis- 
erably failed in accomplishing what I proposed 
to myself at that time. The bitterest reflec- 
tion of all is, too, that I continue on in the 
same course, in spite of perpetual vows to do 
better. I have been trying of late, more and 
more to realize that I can do nothing of my- 
self, but only in humble dependence upon the 
Holy Spirit. I think that I have felt more 
enduring satisfaction, since I formed the reso- 
lution to fit myself for the ministry, and I ear- 
nestly hope that the thought that I am so 
soon to enter upon this sacred calling, may 
constantly work in me a stronger desire to 
conform more perfectly to the will of God. 

TO JAMES O. MURRAY. 

Providence, March 23, 1851. 
I have hastened this evening to get, or 
rather glance at, my German, and am re- 
solved to devote what remains of it to you. 



38 MEMOIRS, 

I have really been so much occupied for the 
past two weeks, that the calls of friendship 
have all been unheeded. When you hear 
what I have been about, you will excuse me, 
I know. You see (to let you into something 
which you have no business to know anything 
about), we have been having a little bit of 
sport in the Brothers Society. For some 
time past, the interest of the members has 
been sensibly on the decrease, and many were 
dilatory about responding to the treasurer's 
calls, and we thought that, on the whole, it 
was best to have a little stirring up. So at 
the meeting held a fortnight ago last Saturday 
a committee was appointed, of which your 
humble servant was the chairman, to inquire 
into the condition of the society, and report 
on the same. Well, last Saturday we brought 
in a report commenting very severely on the 
recent debates, ridiculing the questions sub- 
mitted for discussion, complaining of the non- 
attendance of members, and urgently calling 
for more vigorous enforcement of the laws. 
After a spirited debate, a resolution was car- 
ried, that all who owed anything to the society, 
who should not pay before the next regular 
meeting, should on that day be expelled, and 
an amendment to the constitution was also 



LAST TERM IN COLLEGE. 39 

introduced, which provided that hereafter all 
who should suffer the debts incurred during 
one term, to remain unpaid till the close of 
the succeeding term, should also be expelled. 
We confidently anticipate that in the course 
of the coming fortnight the money bags of 
the United Brothers Society will w^onderfuUy 
enlarge. Now, when I inform you, my dear 
felloWj^ that the aforesaid report occupied 
some twenty-three closely written pages of 
letter-paper, whereof your friend wrote almost 
the whole, you will see how it happened that 
I was too much occupied to be able to answer 
your letter. ... 

I am getting on in the most agreeable 
manner with my last term. It is not quite as 
easy as the last term used to be, when the 
ancients of your day were in college. I dare 
say your eyes will open when you hear what 
studies I have selected. German, Moral 
Philosophy, and Astronomy ! Do not, how- 
ever, let me entreat of you, conjure up any 
fond recollections of Norton, at least as you 
had him, bound in sheep. Happier than you, 
instead of the cold and lifeless volume, we 
have the living and speaking man. But the 
best thing of all is, that we have no co-sines 
and co-tangents, but the lectures are almost 



40 MEMOIRS. 

purely descriptive. Occasionally the old 
Adam will show itself, but not often. Under 
the Doctor we have been rather trenching 
upon the studies of the middle year, i, e., dis- 
covering depravity, and the origin of sin. 
We both recite from the text-book and take 
down lectures. As the latter not unfrequently 
conflict with, and demolish the former, it is 
sometimes difficult to keep the two apart. I 
think that the Doctor is rather ambiguous in 
expressing his views relative to depravity, in- 
deed most of us could make nothing very 
definite out of what he said. Enough was 
said however, it seemed to me, to indicate 
that his opinions are very different from the 
old-fashioned New England views on the sub- 
ject, yet, so far as I could see, correct. In- 
deed I have often thought that there is no 
man whose system of theology I could more 
readily undertake to swallow, than Dr. Way- 
land's. He seems, least of all men, run in the 
mould of any particular school. 

Talking of theology reminds me that I have 
something that I wish very much to speak to 
you about. After I wrote you last, I went 
down to Newport to see Mr. Thayer. He 
was very urgent in the request that I should 
come and stay with him a year, before going 



PLAN OF STUDY. 41 

to Andover. He proposed that I should give 
my attention to Philosophy and German, in 
both of which he is abundantly qualified to 
teach me. I confess the plan was sufficiently 
inviting to stagger my previous arrangements. 
After going home I consulted father, and 
found that he would much prefer that I 
should devote some additional time to study 
before going to Andover. However, nothing 
has been decided upon yet. When you are 
here we will discuss the whole matter. 



CHAPTER ni. 

1851-1853. AET. 20-22. 

Graduation from Brown University. — Newport. — Letters to 
James B. Angell. — Study. — Practical Duties. — Distrust 
of Seminary Life. — Congregationalism. — Family Prayers. 

— Bible Class. — Asylum. — A Minister's Life. — Andover. 

— Plan of Study Abroad. — Difficulties. — Studies. — Rec- 
ollections by Dr. James Gardiner Vose, and Dr. Leonard 
Woolsey Bacon. 

At Commencement, 1851, Mr. Diman was 
graduated from Brown University, pronoun- 
cing the Classical Oration. He then went to 
Newport to continue his studies according to 
the plan mentioned to Mr. Murray. His let- 
ters give a full account of his work and expe- 
riences. 

TO JAMES B. ANGELL. 

Newport, October 15, 1851. 
It was quite refreshing to hear another 
speak of being lonely and homesick, as that 
had been the burden of my own song for 
some days after I came here. I had not a 
single companion here of my own sex, with 
the exception of B., and for a little while the 
time dragged heavily. But the Dominie soon 



STUDIES IN NEWPORT. 43 

gave me a specific, which effectually relieved 
me of all such indisposition. I came here 
Saturday, September 13, and before six o'clock 
on the ensuing Monday morning, as I was 
cosily looking at the sun from beneath the 
bedclothes, I was startled by a deep voice 
calling out in three or four different languages 
in rapid succession something which, even 
with my slight philological acquirements, I 
had little difficulty in translating into a some- 
what summary invitation to get up. I found 
myself pitched in medias res immediately. 

You ask what I am doing. Well, to begin. 
The study I give most attention to on the 
whole is German. Besides writing exercises, 
I am reading a theological treatise on the 
" Christian Doctrine of Sin," by Dr. Julius 
Mliller of Halle. It is exceedingly difficult, 
and I am very much afraid I do not grasp the 
whole of it. It requires rather a more exten- 
sive knowledge of theological opinions than I 
yet possess. However, I hope by careful re- 
views to make it out. With how much more 
zeal one can take hold of a thing when not 
wearied by the insufferable tedium of a recita- 
tion-room ! The object of the Dominie in 
selecting such a book was the sooner to make 
me acquainted with the theological dialect, so 



44 MEMOIRS. 

that when I go to the Seminary my knowledge 
of the language can be made immediately 
available. On other accounts it would have 
been pleasanter, perhaps, to have read works 
of a different character. 

The rest of my time is devoted to Philoso- 
phy. I am reading Eitter's History of An- 
cient Philosophy, and have nearly completed 
the first volume. The account of the early 
Grecian sects is rather dry in itself, but is of 
course essential in order to obtain a complete 
view of the whole progress of development. 
It is curious to notice how in the earliest ages 
the human mind commenced busying itself 
about the same problems which perplex it even 
yet. The most specious phase of modern skep- 
ticism, Pantheism, was taught years ago on the 
banks of the Indus, and I have just been read- 
ing this evening an account of the speculations 
of one of the early Greek philosophers on the 
origin of the human race, which seem almost 
identical with those advanced by the author 
of the " Vestiges of Creation." How the 
human mind treads round an eternal circle of 
skepticism and error, when unillumined by the 
light of revelation ! I do not see how we can 
compare with a candid mind the ancient my- 
thologies and philosophies with the Bible^ and 



PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY. 45 

have a doubt as to its divine origin. The 
relation of philosophy to theology, is so close 
that I expect my present studies will be of es- 
sential service to me hereafter. I look for- 
ward with especial interest to an examination 
of the influence exerted by the later Grecian 
sectSj in the formation and development of 
Christian doctrine. 

One day in the week I give exclusively to 
Greek. I am reading the " Birds " of Aristoph- 
anes, and enjoy it highly. If I could have 
had the drilling four years ago that I have 
now, I might have made a tolerable Greek 
scholar. As it is, I feel at times half inclined 
to disavow any acquaintance with the language 
whatever. 

But perhaps of more importance than all 
these is the practical knowledge I hope to 
gain, during my residence here, of those duties 
which will hereafter devolve upon me. I have 
a fair chance here to study the discourage- 
ments and supports of the Christian minister, 
and you will readily believe me when I tell 
you, that though there are many trials, both 
around and within one, yet the life of a faith- 
ful pastor never seemed to me so inviting as 
it does at this moment. But I have seen 
enough to show me how true is the saying of 



46 MEMOIRS. 

old Andrew Fuller, that " preaching is glori- 
ous as a profession, but most wretched as a 
trade." The consecration to the service of 
God must be entire. I trust that my retired 
life here will have the effect to withdraw my 
mind more entirely from secular things. I 
was glad to hear that you were so pleasantly 
situated in this respect, that you had such 
favorable opportunities for the exercise of 
your Christian activity. Do you not sadly 
miss the spiritual advantages which college 
life used to afford ? I find nowhere here that 
ready sympathy, and that frank interchange 
of sentiment and feeling. I can never forget, 
my dear J — , your faithfulness to me in the 
hour of my deepest need ; for to you, more 
than to any other human being, I trace those 
influences which have made me what I am. 

Newport, November 16, 1851. 

... A prominent reason which led me to 
pass this year with Mr. Thayer was that I 
might become acquainted a little with the 
practical, as well as the theoretical, or rather 
the scholastic side of my profession. I must 
confess that the slight acquaintance I had 
formed with theological students, and the 
little I saw of their life when I visited Murray 



PRACTICAL DUTIES. 47 

(at Andover) last winter, did not entirely sat- 
isfy me with the cast of character that a Sem- 
inary develops. Preaching seemed too much 
with many of them a profession, and too little 
a life. But experience has taught me that it 
is a very different thing to study Christianity 
as a beautiful system of morality, and to feel 
it in the heart. I begin to set less and less 
value on the intellectual element, when com- 
pared with the spiritual. A humble, prayer- 
ful spirit is a better preparation for the pul- 
pit than a whole army of commentators. But 
the intellectual ferment of a Seminary, and 
the almost total absence of practical duties, 
seemed to foster one of these elements to the 
almost entire exclusion of the other. Accord- 
ingly, when I came here, it was with the un- 
derstanding that I was to be brought in 
contact with practical duties, and be made 
somewhat acquainted with the every-day trials 
and labors of a pastor's life. So far as the 
latter indeed are concerned, my knowledge 
has been in the main derived from intercourse 
of the most familiar kind with Mr. Thayer, 
but I trust I have learned some good lessons. 
I have learned, at least, that he who would 
enter the gospel ministry, with the hope of 
deriving any comfort from the performance of 



48 MEMOIRS. 

its duties, must do so with the most entire 
consecration of all his motives and impulses 
to Christ, and with the most utter forgetful- 
ness of self. It may seem hardly necessary 
for one about to enter so humble a calling, so 
far as all outward appearances are concerned, 
as the ministry, to guard himself against am- 
bition, but I have been taught that the failing 
is more common than is generally supposed. 
The very tendency of Congregationalism so 
strongly to develop the individual is in many 
respects a most unhappy one, so far as the 
ministry is concerned ; it is so apt to result in 
lionizing, in producing the pestiferous race of 
what are termed "popular preachers." 

But some of the best influences that I have 
been brought in contact with, have arisen from 
the little practical duties that have at times de- 
volved upon me. Of these not the least is tak- 
ing part in family worship. Often, when the 
Dominie and Mr. Hied happen to be away or 
engaged, it devolves upon me to of&ciate, and 
I need not tell you that it is a very delightful 
exercise. It takes the place, more than any- 
thing else, of our old college prayer-meetings. 
To be sure there is the weekly prayer-meeting 
of the church, but it is apt to be a little cold 
and formal, and besides, I am so slightly 



ASYLUM SERVICE. 49 

acquainted with most of those present that I 
naturally do not feel so much interested. Be- 
sides this, I have a fine Bible-class of boys. 
We are at present engaged upon Hebrews. I 
have felt somewhat discouraged for two or 
three Sundays back, as it has been very stormy 
and the attendance was rather small, but to- 
day I had a capital time, and begin to feel 
quite encouraged again. But the thing after 
all most novel to me, and perhaps the most 
beneficial of anything I have undertaken, has 
been conducting religious services on Sundays 
at the Asylum on Coaster's Island. There 
are about seventy-five inmates, and usually one 
of the clergy of the town officiates, but some- 
times it happens that none of them can go, 
and then they call upon the lay brethren. I 
have been twice. The services are similar to 
those in ordinary congregations. I wish I 
had space to describe to you the motley audi- 
ence. There are every age, sex, and color — 
the lunatic, the vagrant, the strumpet, and 
the drunkard ; yet among them there are 
some sad and serious countenances, men to 
whom it is a pleasure to talk, because they 
make it an earnest business to listen. How 
wonderfully the Gospel adapts itself to their 
condition ! The poor broken-hearted, despised 



60 MEMOIRS. 

inmates of a poor-house can see in it a richness 
and depth that the rich and happy have never 
felt. Is it not pleasanter to preach to paupers 
than to a fashionable congregation ? 

Bristol, K. I., September 7, 1852. 

... I was much interested in your esti- 
mate of the advantages and disadvantages of 
European travel, and I shall wish to converse 
with you at length upon the subject after 
your return, for I have not yet relinquished 
all the day-dreams that you and I used to 
build so pleasantly together. I am especially 
anxious to ascertain as nearly as possible how 
much benefit may be derived from a year or 
two's residence abroad for the purpose of 
study, after one has gone through with a 
course at home. I finished my studies at 
Newport about a month ago, and on the 
whole think I have reason to be satisfied with 
the results of my year's labor. Mr. Thayer 
was very desirous that I should remain with 
him another year, but for several reasons I 
thought it best to proceed to the Seminary 
this fall. Though I was very pleasantly situ- 
ated in Newport in every respect, yet I felt 
exceedingly the need of some associates of 
my own age and of congenial tastes. On this 



A MINISTER'S LIFE. 51 

account I look forward with much pleasure to 
meeting Murray and other friends at Andover 
next month. I used formerly to have many 
visions of the advantages of solitary retreats, 
and secluded " cloistered halls/' for the pur- 
poses of study, but after a year's experience I 
have come to the conclusion that man is a 
decidedly social animal. 

You can readily conjecture, my dear J — , 
that much can be learned during a year's resi- 
dence in a pastor's family, besides that to be 
obtained from books. Indeed, as I review the 
past year, I am far from ascribing the highest 
importance to my mere literary acquisitions. 
I trust that I have learned that a minister 
needs, for the successful prosecution of his 
work, far other and higher preparation. To 
me the hardest thing about a minister's life is, 
that in consequence of the high and sacred 
nature of the duties he is called to perform, a 
sanctity and holiness is attached to his char- 
acter which he is always conscious that he 
does not possess ; and while his convictions 
of right force him at all times to denounce 
all Pharisaical affectations of superior piety, he 
feels condemned in his own heart of seeming 
better than he is. How little the world esti- 
mates the real trials and difficulties of a min- 



52 MEMOIRS. 

ister's life ! How mean and paltry would 
seem the worldly sacrifices and privations, 
were he only buoyed up by the conviction 
that he was worthy to be a guide to others, 
and to tread in the footsteps of the Apostles 1 
I have never had such conviction of my own 
unworthiness to be a minister as during the 
past winter, and sometimes I have almost felt 
like giving it up. I have been so discouraged 
by my slow progress in holiness, by my re- 
peated relapses into coldness and indifference 
to the truth. But such feelings I know are 
wrong, and I ought to struggle against them. 
If I did my duty every day, I should not be 
troubled with them. This makes me feel 
impatient to be in a position where I shall be 
engaged in direct personal Christian labors. 

Andover, November 2, 1852. 

. . , When I wrote to you, if I remember, 
I spoke somewhat about coming to Andover, 
and my feelings in regard to it. Well, here 
I am at last, and from an experience of a 
couple of weeks feel prepared to say some- 
thing about it. You remember that I had 
some doubts and fears. I rejoice to say that 
they are being rapidly dissipated. Thus far 
all my impressions of Seminary life have been 



ANDOVER. 53 

of the most delightful and, I trust, profitable 
character, and I only regret that you are not 
here to enjoy them with me. How happy 
could we be could we but renew that familiar 
intercourse which, to me at least, was fraught 
with unnumbered blessings ! . . . 

I have found in the Seminary a much 
greater degree of spirituality than I had been 
prepared to expect. Perhaps my last year's 
life of solitude, and exclusion from the social 
communion to which I was so much accus- 
tomed in college, leads me to estimate it dif- 
ferently from what I otherwise should have 
done, but I cannot help feeling myself better 
every day by being brought in contact with 
such an atmosphere. I feel more encourage- 
ment in view of what will devolve upon me 
hereafter, and above all I have felt myself in 
closer communion with my Saviour than for 
many months. And I hope and pray that 
my life here may be a continuation of the 
same glad experiences. 

We are now fairly embarked upon the 
studies of the term. In Hebrew we are under 
the instruction of Prof. Barrow^s, who is said 
as a teacher to be inferior to none in the 
United States. In the Greek we are com- 
mitted to Prof. Stowe, husband of the world- 



54 MEMOIRS. 

renowned authoress of " Uncle Tom's Cabin." 
Hebrew is a terribly uncouth language at first 
acquaintance, but I cannot help thinking that 
when we become tolerably familiar with it, it 
must prove extremely interesting. It is so fresh 
and new, and so unlike all our Occidental 
tongues, and withal it is so rich in magnificent 
imagery that it cannot fail to reward a good 
deal of labor. And then, too, a knowledge of 
it will disclose so many new beauties in the 
sacred writings. 

So far as personal matters are concerned I 
am very pleasantly situated indeed. I room 
with Bancroft,^ whom, upon closer acquaint- 
ance, I have learned to esteem very highly. 
Our room is a very nice one, and is very 
neatly furnished, and besides is just opposite 
to Anthony^ and Durfee,^ and in the same 
entry with Murray* and Allen.^ So you see 
that, so far as worldly comforts are concerned, 
I could not be better off. Indeed, if you 
could peep in upon us at the present moment, 
and see us sitting by an open fire, with a 
bright solar lamp shedding its rays around 
the room, you would say that we were the 
very picture of comfort. 

1 Dr. Lucius Bancroft. "^ Rev. George N. Anthony. 

8 Rev. Simeon B. Durfee. ^ Rev. James 0. Murray. 
^ Rev. George E, Allen. 



FIRST YEAR OF SEMINARY LIFE. 55 

Andover, April 4, 1853. 

... I came very near crossing the water a 
little while ago, though I fear I should not 
have been able to make you a visit. A party 
of friends sailed three weeks ago for a six 
months' tour, and I was strongly tempted to 
join them. It would have caused such a seri- 
ous interruption, however, to my studies, and, 
moreover, have defeated my plans of studying 
abroad, that I was compelled to give up the 
plan. ... I did not go with them mainly 
because I have been thinking more and more 
seriously of late of leaving the Seminary at 
the end of the second year, and going abroad 
for a year and a half, and then coming back 
and graduating with the next class below. I 
shall be governed very much by your opin- 
ion, and that of a friend who will be back 
here in about a month. I cannot help view- 
ing the question with a good deal of anxiety, 
as it will affect so much, for good or bad, my 
future usefulness. We will talk it all over 
next fall. 

In two weeks the present term will close, 
and my first year of Seminary life will be nearly 
at an end. With some drawbacks it has been 
a happy one. I have enjoyed myself of late 
in the renewal of scenes which have carried 



56 MEMOIRS. 

my mind back to five years ago. There has 
been a revival among the students of the 
academy, where I have a large Sunday-school 
class. I have derived much benefit from the 
few earnest conversations I have had with 
those whose souls were yearning for the truth. 
It was a kind of food that I had been in need 
of for a long time. I hear on every side con- 
versations among those who are soon to leave 
the Seminary, which remind me constantly 
that my time will come before long. As the 
time approaches my heart almost draws back 
from such manifold and mighty responsibili- 
ties. Indeed, when years ago you and I used 
to talk the subject over, could I have seen all 
the difficulties which have now presented 
themselves, I almost fear that I should not 
have made the decision that I did. I should 
like it much better if you were to be with me. 
Would n't it be nice if we could only have 
adjoining parishes? I have just been reading 
a little book called "Shady Side," a story 
which gives the darker phases of pastoral life, 
and it may be that that has affected my views 
a little. One of the students here told me 
that if he had read it while in the academy, 
he would have given up all thoughts of the 
ministry. But I know this is a wrong view 



ENGLISH DIVINES. 57 

to take of it. There must be much self- 
denial, and silent uncomplaining toil, in any 
post where one faithfully and resolutely car- 
ries into practice the doctrines of his faith, 
and I doubt not that the reward is only 
sweeter for having been earned by such costly 
sacrifices. 

I envy you the study of Goethe. I was 
quite enraptured with what little knowledge I 
obtained of Schiller last winter. This winter 
I have had little to relieve the dry, dull mo- 
notony of my class studies. One could hardly 
fly off in raptures over Hebrew Grammar and 
Exeofesis. 

The author I have learned most from the 
past winter is Coleridge, whose writings and 
views generally I am beginning to fancy 
hugely. I have been reading of late Henry 
More, a divine of the age of Charles Second, 
who resembles Coleridge in many respects. 
Let' me whisper in your ear that I greatly 
prefer the old English divines to the hair- 
sphtting theologians of New England. But 
more of this one of these days. . . . 

The Rev. James Gardiner Vose adds these 
recollections of Seminary life : — 

" At Andover I found the graduates of 
Brown University taking a very high rank. 



58 MEMOIRS. 

In fact I had known very little of the college 
before, and was somewhat surprised at what I 
there learned. Professor Park was then in 
the freshness and brilliancy of his lecturing 
career, and his Alma Mater, of course, ac- 
quired a lustre in our eyes from the fascina- 
tion of his eloquence. But the students 
whom I learned most to admire were nearly 
all of them Brown University men : Professor 
Fisher, who was then a resident graduate at 
the Seminary, Professor Murray of Princeton, 
Dr. Lucius Bancroft of Brooklyn, whom I 
associate with Diman in his rooming with him 
a little while, and others, such as Dr. Atwood 
of Salem, and two who are not living, — Pro- 
fessor Clarendon Waite and Rev. G. N. An- 
thony. The best of the Seminary seemed to 
be from Brown University, and I have always 
regarded it as one of the greatest blessings of 
my life that I knew these men and was ad- 
mitted to their friendship. Many were "the 
discussions, serious and otherwise, in which 
we took part, and if it be true, as I believe, 
that a man learns more from his companions 
than from his teachers, certainly I owe a 
great and never-to-be-forgotten debt to the 
friends of my youth. The Rhode Island 
boys were not only proud of their college, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF SEMINARY LIFE. 59 

but quite disposed to take up the cudgels in 
lively contests as to its merits, and those of 
the little State they came from. Diman was 
especially loyal, and I can bring before me 
his look and manner, as he gave thrusts and 
parried them in her defense. But my first 
impressions of Diman, which never wholly 
wore off, even in the most familiar inter- 
course, were those of a very reserved and 
serious-minded man. As a student he was 
unusually quiet and thoughtful. He carried 
with him, even in those early days, a certain 
loftiness of manner, a self-poise and dignity, 
that were beyond his years. His features 
were finely cut, and more than one person has 
remarked his striking likeness to the well- 
known bust of the young Augustus, especially 
in profile. In our student days, both at home 
and abroad, when we all lived in the plainest 
and most inexpensive way, there was some- 
thing about Diman that befitted a man of 
rank and distinction, and never failed to com- 
mand respect." 

" It was before Andover had been discov- 
ered by the architects," writes Dr. Leonard 
W. Bacon. " The school of the prophets was 
a dismal broadside of brick barracks, and the 
broad horizon about the Seminary hill was 



60 MEMOIRS. 

only a partial compensation for the bleakness 
of the exposure. It cannot be denied that 
there was something in the tone of the theo- 
logical discussion (notwithstanding the great 
ability of some of the faculty) that was con- 
gruous with the surroundings. New England 
theology was at that time only beginning to 
emerge from its mediaeval scholastic period, 
and in the lecture-rooms they were still thresh- 
ing away at the chaff of the old pettifogging 
debates about fate and free-will. I shudder 
to think what my two years at Andover would 
have been, but for my happy association with 
a knot of fellow-students whose ^ society was 
an education ' as well as a delig^ht. The heart 
of this little coterie was from Brown Univer- 
sity, and the heart of the heart was Lewis 
Diman. Beside much high discourse on the- 
ological and philosophical themes, there was 
amongst us a certain amount of ' giggling and 
making giggle,' in which I must have had my 
share, for I remember Diman's saying to me 
long years afterwards, ^ I believe you saved 
my life that year we were at Andover together ; 
I should have died of dreariness if you had n't 
been there to make me laugh.' 

" Diman was always hunting through unex- 
plored alcoves of the noble library at Andover. 



SEMINARY LIFE. 61 

For a while tlie ' Lettres curieuses et edifiantes ' 
of the Jesuit missionaries had a great fasci- 
nation for him. It was very characteristic of 
his historical genius, that while reading in 
these old journals of missionary zeal and de- 
votion, of the discovery of the ancient monu- 
ment of Singan-fu, he should collate the 
record with the ancient history of the Nestorian 
church on the one hand, and with the daily 
newspaper on the other, then teeming with 
strange stories of the rebelhon in China. Tlie 
result of this Httle by-play of his studies was 
the striking article on ' Early Christianity in 
China,' which he gave me to send to the 
^ New Englander,' and which appeared in 
November, 1853. His previous article in the 
same Review, on ' Dr. Grant and the Mountain 
Nestorians,' showed how Httle his keen critical 
and satirical insight availed to check the glow 
of a generous enthusiasm. 

" I saw very little of Diman after I left the 
Seminary ; but I have questioned sometimes 
whether those who knew him in the fullness 
of his learning, and the ripeness of his powers, 
were so very much to be envied by those who 
remember the grace and beauty, and splendid 
promise of his youth." 



CHAPTER IV. 

1854-1855. AET. 23-24. 

Sailed for Europe. — Bremen. — Brunswick. — Halle. — 
Professor Tholuck. — Matriculation. — Erdmann's Ad- 
dress. — Calls on Professors. — Lectures, Twenty a Week. — 
Tholuck as a Preacher. — Miiller as a Lecturer. — Conver- 
sation with Tholuck. — " Old Year's Day." — Letter to his 
Father. — Mme. Leo. — Farewell to Halle. — Recollections 
by Rev. C. C. Tiffany. 

In accordance with the plan mentioned in 
the previous letters^ Mr. Diman sailed for Eu- 
rope August 12, 1854, when the first entry 
in the foreign journal occurs. 

"At 12 o'clock sailed in the Herman, Father 
and Henry on the wharf. At three passed 
Sandy Hook, dropped the pilot, and stood off 
to sea. Ate a good dinner, feeling some un- 
certainty whether I should soon have that 
happiness again. 

''Aug. 13. Woke with a composed mind, 
but had much disagreeable reflection while 
dressing. In consequence felt some reluctance 
to go to the breakfast-table, so took my coffee 
on deck. Had a controversy about Christian- 
ity with Mr. D., a disciple of Feuerbach. Was 



OCEAN VOYAGE. 63 

supported by an unknown ally of good ap- 
pearance, and apparently highly educated. 

"Aug. 23. A beautiful day ; wrote, read, 
and talked. Heartily tired of the monotony 
of sea life. No romance at all. The ocean 
has disappointed me. Think that to enjoy 
the ocean one must look at it from the land. 
The narrow range of vision makes it seem 
quite small." 

On August 24th the monotony of the voy- 
age was broken by a collision with a large 
bark, the Raindeer. The steamer lay by her 
all night. " Remained on deck two hours ; 
in consequence took cold. 

"Aug, 25. After a sleepless night got a lit- 
tle nap in the morning. Woke with a severe 
pain in right side. Rose, but was compelled 
to lie down again. Doctor came and pro- 
nounced it pleurisy. Compelled to lie on my 
back all day, and consequently did not see the 
Scilly Isles and Land's End. We had the 
bark in tow all day. T. (his companion and 
fellow-student) was very kind and attentive, 
and was worth a ship-load of doctors. Heard 
th-at they had an exciting day with the bark. 
We left her next morning at Falmouth. By 
night I felt much relieved. Under ordinary 
circumstances I should have regarded my ac- 



64 MEMOIRS. 

commodations as rather limited, but as I could 
not move without pain, I found my domain 
quite large enough. Rather odd that my 
only sick day was one of the most agreeable 
to me that I passed on board." 

So the voyage continued. The 27th they 
lay off the Isle of Wight, and heard the chimes 
from shore. 

"Aug, 28. All day in the North Sea. No 
land in sight. The dullest and most disagree- 
able day of the voyage. In the evening played 
my last game of bagatelle with P., and retired 
to my berth, thankful that it was the last time 
I should have to clamber to that elevated rest- 
ing-place." 

They landed at Bremen August 29. 

" My ocean voyage is ended. It was a long 
cherished and bright dream, the romance of 
many years. The reality was a disappoint- 
ment. On a retrospect I can recall no hour 
of hearty enjoyment upon the passage. I 
formed many acquaintances, but not one friend- 
ship, and I left those with whom I had lived 
for sixteen days without a single regret." 

From Bremen the students went to Han- 
over, and September 1st arrived in Brunswick. 

" Called at the Sack's. Struck with the 
outside of the house built in 1590. Stands 



BRUNSWICK. 65 

in a quiet square, close by the Domkirche. 
Found that they only expected me, but agreed 
to take us both. Pleased with our rooms, and 
especially with our kind reception. Heartily 
rejoiced to have a place once more that I can 
call home. After tea the engravings of Provi- 
dence, which Angell had sent, were brought 
out, and I explained all the localities. Found 
that we could speak German enough to under- 
stand and make ourselves understood, though 
it was very fatiguing work. Agnes is to be 
our teacher. The rest of the family consist 
of Mr. and Mrs. Sack, and Therese." 

In this pleasant German home, in the 
quaint old city, the two students remained five 
weeks, sharing in the family life, seeing all 
there was to be seen, and improving daily in 
their German. The Rathhaus, and Palace, the 
Cathedral, and the courts were visited. A 
German christening is described. 

" Sunday, Sept. 10. In the afternoon Wil- 
helm Sack's child was baptized in the Dom- 
kirche. Very curious spectacle. We all as- 
sembled first up-stairs, and had many greet- 
ings, etc. Went to the church, and in a 
room at the south transept found a minister 
standing before a table on which were two 
large candles. Before him a small table and 



66 MEMOIRS. 

basin of warm water. The service was lonsf, 
and to me unimpressive. At the conckision 
many congratuhitions again, as if it were a 
wedding. I was introduced to the minister. 
Afterwards saw in the church the celebrated 
biblical critic Tischendorf. We came back 
to the house and had a merry time in the 
evening. The baby's health was proposed by 
the god-father and drunk with hearty good- 
will. 

" Sept. 22. This evening attended an exam- 
ination in the school where Agnes is teacher, 
and was exceedingly interested. The pupils 
were all girls, from eight to fourteen. The 
exercises commenced with singing, after which 
followed a short prayer. The children were 
then examined in the fundamental doctrines 
of religion by a pastor, in a very familiar, 
fatherly way. The answers were prompt, and 
evinced a thorough acquaintance with the 
subject. They were then examined by differ- 
ent gentlemen in geography, history, and 
arithmetic. Essays were read, and short pieces 
of poetry were recited in French and English, 
the latter very creditable indeed. There were 
also some recitations in German. With some 
songs, well sung of course, the exercises closed. 
I was especially impressed with the happy, 
good-natured faces of the children." 



BRUNSWICK TO HALLE. 67 

The stay in Brunswick was broken by a 
walking excursion up the Brocken, making the 
ascent in seven hours. " I carried tvv^o carpet 
bags and an umbrella, and most of the way 
had Therese on my arm. The rain set in 
soon after our arrival, so of course nothing 
was to be seen of the fine prospect from the 
top." The walk back the next day was very 
beautiful, and they returned, heartily pleased 
with the excursion. 

'^Od. 7. To-day we bid good-by to Bruns- 
wick, after a stay of five very pleasant weeks. 
The family seemed very much to regret our 
departure, and exhibited evident signs of grief 
when we presented them with our little part- 
ing gifts. Before dinner we went with Wil- 
helm to an out-of-the-way place and drank, 
or tried to drink, Mumme, the famous bever- 
age of Brunswick. We left at four in the 
afternoon, Mr. Sack and Wilhelm going with 
us to the station and giving us a very cordial 
good-by. The weather was stormy, and our 
ride to Magdeburg presented nothing of in- 
terest. 

''Oct, 9. Left Magdeburg at eleven, and af- 
ter a ride of two hours through an uninterest- 
ing but very rich country, reached Halle, and 
having been subjected to an examination at 



68 MEMOIRS. 

the custom-house, got to our new home, and 
met with a cordial reception from Madame 
Mlilier. 

''Oct. 10. Well pleased with our new home. 
Walked this morning, and saw the Waisen- 
haus, a high but ugly pile of buildings, where 
three thousand children receive instruction, the 
Dom, if possible, still more ugly, the post-office 
and university. Dined with Young and Simon 
at a restaurant, which is the universal practice 
here. Called in the afternoon on Professor 
Tholuck, who received us with great kindness, 
and arranged a walk for the next day. 

"Oct, 11. Had a very pleasant walk of two 
hours. The conversation turned mainly on 
the movements of the extreme Lutheran party, 
which seemed to grieve him exceedingly. 
' When they say to me,' he exclaimed, ' nur 
Einheit, nur Emheit, I reply, nur Wahrheit, 
nur Wahrheit/ 

''Oct, 13. Commenced the tedious process 
of matriculation by going to the University, 
surrendering our passports, going before the 
rector, and then to the secretary, where we 
wrote all the particulars respecting our birth- 
places, names, and manner of life upwards, in 
a huge book. About thirty other students 
were present, many in uniform, serving their 
time in the army. 



MATRICULATION. 69 

^'Oct. 15. At eleven o'clock went to the 
University and heard Erdmann deliver an 
eloquent address in commemoration of the 
king's birthday. In the evening the city was 
illuminated. Took tea with Thoiuck. Mrs. 
Tholuck, a very pleasing woman, who speaks 
English with great fluency. Met there Pro- 
fessor Hursy, and talked about Professor 
Stowe and Jonathan Edwards. He was sur- 
prised to hear that the latter was dead. The 
other day I called on Professor Uirici and pre- 
sented a copy of ' Edwards on the Will ' from 
Mr. Thayer, which he mistook for a work by 
Professor Edwards, and proposed to notice in 
his Review, among the new books of the day. 

''Oct. 17. Went to the University according 
to order and received my Anmeldebiich from 
the curator, after having been sent back to 
the secretary to change R. I. to Rhode Island 
in the entry I had made. Called on Professor 
Witte, but he was not in. In the afternoon 
we called with Young on Julius MUller and 
were much pleased with him. 

"Oct, 19. In the morning at nine o'clock 
had the first lecture from Muller on Dogmat- 
ics. Understood it pretty well, though his 
enunciation is very indistinct. 

" Oct, 20. At last completed our matricula- 



70 MEMOIRS. 

tion. Introduced into a large room, heard a 
short speech from the rector, Professor Leo, 
— a Latin oath was read, to which we all 
gave assent, then went one by one to the 
rector, were taken by the hand, and each re- 
ceived a large document attesting his matricu- 
lation and admitting him to all the privileges 
of the University. Called on Tholuck, and 
received his signature to my Anmeldebuch. 

''Oct, 23. The lectures have begun in good 
earnest, after waiting here two weeks. MuUer 
every day at nine, on Dogmatics, and Wed- 
nesdays and Saturdays, at six p. M., on In- 
troduction to Dogmatics. Erdmann every 
evening at five, on History of Philosophy. 
Tholuck four times a week at three p. m., on 
the Life of Christ, and on Saturday at ten 
A. M., on the Doctrine of Paul. Schwarz on 
the same subject at eleven a.m. on Wednes- 
day. 

"Oct. 24. Called to-day on Professor Leo, 
and had a pleasant conversation running on 
German and Anglo-Saxon languages. Besides 
our lectures we study in private Kant's ' Critic 
of Pure Reason.' 

"Oct. 28. In the afternoon we dined with 
Professor Erdmann. Much pleased with Mme. 
Erdmann. Very elegant dinner. Had a fine 



THOLUCK, ERDMANN, AND MULLER. 71 

view from the balcony of a procession of stu- 
dents. First a marshal on horseback, with 
cocked hat, feathers, velvet coat, long sword, 
white trousers, and long boots. Then a band, 
mounted, and in uniform. Then a cavalcade 
of horsemen, dressed like the first. Then the 
dignitaries of the University in open carriages 
drawn by six horses with postilions. Then a 
fellow on horseback representing a fox, or 
freshman. Then a venerable-looking fellow, 
in a carriage with a huge dog. Then the in- 
ferior members in carriages. The whole was 
the most characteristic feature that I have yet 
seen of the German student life. 

'' Oct. 29. Heard Tholuck preach at the aca- 
demic service in the Domkirche. Was much 
pleased with the Liturgy, especially with the 
chanting of the choir-boys. Tholuck is inter- 
esting as a preacher, and his sermons have 
more in them than those I have heard. 

'^Nov, 6. Called this morning on Professor 
Roediger. Was received with great kindness, 
and had a most ag-reeable conversation of an 
hour, chiefly about oriental subjects. 

"Sunday, Nov. 19. Heard Erdmann preach 
in the Domkirche. Seemed odd enough to 
see him in gown and bands. We have all 
been exceedingly interested for some time past 



72 MEMOIRS. 

in Miiller's theory of the Personality of God, 
and the Trinity. As a lecturer he satisfies 
my utmost desires. I feel an interest in The- 
ology that has never animated me before. 

"Dee. 3. We went to-day at eleven to 
Tholuck's, and spent a couple of hours with 
him walking up and down in an arbor in the 
garden, discussing some points which had 
arisen in his lectures on the Life of Christ, 
principally relating to the Logos, and to 
Genealogies. As to the first he was not very 
clear, his idea seemed in many respects akin 
to Plato's. He borrowed from Aristotle an 
illustration of the Trinity: 6 vo(^iv^ ro vov[ievov 
X o vovg. The last being the unity of the 
other two. 

"Dee. 10. In the morning read Strauss's 
' Leben Jesu.' Begin to feel a great inter- 
est in the historical criticism of the origin of 
Christianity. 

"Dec. 11. Took tea at Professor Witte's. 
T. and I read aloud from Longfellow's * Kav- 
anagh.' 

"Dec. 13. Took tea this evening at Pro- 
fessor Erdmann's. Muller has not lectured 
in consequence of sickness, so I have given 
more time to the ' Critic of Pure Reason/ 
which I have about two thirds read." 



''OLD YEAR'S day:' 73 

December ISth^ there was a disputation in 
the University, which is described with inter- 
est. Christmas Eve was spent at Professor 
Roediger's, and much enjoyed : the tree was 
admired, and the following day a party of stu- 
dents gathered to " make way with some nice 
cake and sausages " from the good friends in 
Brunswick. 

''Dec, 31. Took tea this evening with 
Tholuck, in company with some of our Scotch 
and English friends. While waiting for tea 
Mrs. Tholuck read a beautiful German hymn 
for Christmas. At tea had a very pleasant 
conversation on serious topics. Professor Tho- 
luck spoke of his visit to Oxford, where he 
met Pusey, Newman, etc. When tea was over 
he read a chapter from the Bible, made some 
remarks appropriate to the close of the year, 
and a short prayer. The whole was very im- 
pressive, and seemed more like a Christian 
family scene than anything we had seen in 
Germany. When we reached home quite an- 
other scene presented itself; the New Year's 
feast was going on in the common style. In 
Mme. Muller's parlor was a big tureen of 
punch, up-stairs another, where the students 
were drinking. In another room the piano 
was going, and the students were dancing with 



74 MEMOIRS. 

the servant-girls. Got away to bed, but could 
not get asleep on account of the noise in the 
house. The instant the clock had ceased to 
strike twelve a tremendous shouting com- 
menced in the streets to welcome the new 
year." 

A couple of days in Leipsic finished the 
vacation, and January 4th " the lectures, which 
have been suspended for two weeks during 
the vacation, recommenced to-day." 

About this time Mr. Diman wrote home : 
" I met this evening a young Russian student, 
in whom I was exceedingly interested. It is 
a little singular that here in Germany I have 
been most pleased with Hungarians, Swiss, and 
Russians. Of course he talked mostly of 
Russia and the war. He said that it was very 
popular with the Russian people, and that 
though Russia might be disconcerted at the out- 
set, in the end she was sure to conquer ; that 
Russia was yet a child, her history ran back but 
a century and a half ; that her exhaustless re- 
sources were yet undeveloped ; that an illimit- 
able future was hers ; while France and Eng- 
land had passed their grand climacteric. He 
said that the common idea of Russia was en- 
tirely false, that the emperor was much belied, 
and that during his entire reign he had labored 



TALK WITH A RUSSIAN STUDENT. 75 

to improve the condition of the serfs, which 
had greatly changed for the better ; that it 
would be folly to give them at once political 
freedom, as they would only abuse it, but that 
to all efforts to prepare them for it the em- 
peror gave a most generous aid. He said that 
the serfs, though not generally educated, were 
almost always intelligent, and being attached 
to the soil, families could never be separated, 
that every one could have his freedom at a 
price fixed upon by law, but that most pre- 
ferred to remain serfs, as they were then en- 
titled to maintenance at the hands of their 
masters. In short, from his account I con- 
cluded that our idea of the Russians was about 
as accurate as the popular notion of an Ameri- 
can here, where he is always represented as a 
man with a wide straw hat and striped trou- 
sers, a revolver and bowie-knife, and a whip 
in his hand to use over the slaves. I was glad 
to hear this side of the case clearly presented 
by one who spoke with an entire absence of 
all bitterness, and in a calm, philosophic 
spirit. Of course the greatest interest is felt 
by all here, relative to the progress of the 
war. I think that as a general thing the 
middle and lower classes are on the side of 
England, but Erdmann, Leo, Witte, and men 



76 MEMOIRS. 

of this stamp, of absolutist tendencies, sympa- 
thize with Russia. The professors, however, 
are by no means unanimous. There are two 
or three Republicans among them, who were 
delegates to the famous Frankfort Parliament 
in 1848. Of course they are now all down, 
but no professor is ever removed here on ac- 
count of his opinions, unless they are directly 
subversive of all order aad decency. They 
have the liberty of teaching what they choose, 
which gives rise to a most agreeable variety ; 
at Bonn, for example, where the professors 
are both Catholic and Protestant." 

So the life at Halle went on to the middle 
of March. Almost every evening was spent 
with the professors. 

" In the evening with Professor Leo. En- 
joyed ourselves, as usual, very much. Mrs. 
Leo, by her kindness of manner, has quite 
won my heart." Such entries occur con- 
stantly. His own enjoyment proves the pleas- 
ure he must have given. 

" March 16. This morning sent all our 
books to the Waisenhaus, where they are to 
remain till we return to America. Called on 
Mrs. Tholuck, but she was sick and unable to 
see us. Had a pleasant call on Mrs. Erdmann, 
and left her little tokens of our regard. Spent 



FAREWELL TO HALLE. 77 

the time in packing till five, when we called 
on Tholuck, and received notes of introduction 
to professors in Heidelberg. In the evening 
gave a farewell supper to Young and Simon, 
all who remain of our pleasant circle in Halle. 
The evening till eleven was passed in pleasant 
conversation and reminiscences of the happy 
hours we have passed together here during the 
last winter. We shall never forget them. 
" And so ends my life in Halle." 

The Rev. Charles C. Tiffany, so often al- 
luded to in the previous pages, sends the fol- 
lowing sketch of these days of travel, and 
enthusiastic study : — 

" I am to write of my sojourn abroad with 
my friend Diman, when we were students to- 
gether at several German universities. 

" How shall I fittingly recall to others what 
lives so vividly in my own recollection ! The 
facts and incidents become indistinct and 
misty as one looks back to the experiences of 
thirty years ago ; but the feeling of exhilara- 
tion as we walked the steamer tog'ether in an- 
ticipation ; the sense of quiet and freedom as 
we studied together under the inspiring Pro- 
fessors of Halle, Heidelberg, and Berlin ; the 
enlarged view of life and the high purpose to 



78 MEMOIRS. 

live well in it, as we returned, — these are un- 
fading memories, because they were impres- 
sions which, once taken, live on forever. 

" It was in August, on the twelfth day of 
the month, I think, in 1854, that Diman and I 
sailed on the steamship Herman for Bremen. 
We had been fellow-students two years at 
Andover, and were both looking forward to 
the ministry. We shared a common longing 
to know more of German thought and to gain 
riper acquaintance with the German tongue ; 
and so we started with that eagerness of en- 
thusiasm which young men have when looking 
out upon a wider horizon than that which has 
heretofore limited their vision. It was a voy- 
age of discovery before us. Though the old 
world, it had to us all the freshness of a new. 
And the most delightful element in the new 
prospect to both of us was the fact that we 
were going to taste the old. The historical 
associations of the centuries were to be the 
dear environment in which we were to pursue 
our investigations into the most recent modern 
thought. 

" This, in fact, was the especial key-note to 
my friend Diman's character. There lay in 
him great reverence and longing for the past. 
There abode in him also an eager intellectual 



RECOLLECTIONS BY REV. C. C. TIFFANY. 79 

desire to know and test the latest fruits of 
criticism and speculative research. But the 
latter had little or no value in his eyes unless 
it were the evident growth out of old knowl- 
edge and remoter thought ; and the old found 
its potent fascination as the obscure, but still 
real root, of the strange tangle of growth in 
modern thought and institutions ; through 
which labyrinth we need imperatively the 
knowledge of the older threads of thought to 
guide us safely, not into shallow indetermi- 
nate speculation, but into rational progress. 

" How ardent we were when we set out ! 
Each day on the steamer, notwithstanding 
qualms" of sea-sickness, and the temptations to 
listlessness, a certain task of German grammar 
and phrases was gone through regularly. 
Diman, by his fine, manly beauty, his undeviat- 
ing courtesy, his thoughtful conversation, won 
from the few passengers we had as compan- 
ions a very hearty appreciation and respectful 
recognition. In some difficulty which occurred 
between the captain, a fiery Southerner, and 
the passengers, he was requested by the elder 
men to draw up the protest and give expres- 
sion to the sentiments of the aggrieved. I 
remember well, too, the fine scorn he showed 
for two harmless and heedless young fellows, 



80 MEMOIRS. 

who, rich and careless, seemed to look upon 
their first visit to Europe as the opportunity 
for an unbounded spree. When we anchored 
off Cowes at night, and had our first view of 
England on the Sunday morning following, 
and were delighted by the beauty of the ivy- 
clad towers of Hurst Castle, and charmed by 
the sound of the church-bells, and were bask- 
ing in this first realization of our dreams of 
England, our entrance through the enchanted 
gate of historical Europe was rudely shocked 
by the urgent invitation of these two young 
men to hurry off to land and make use of a 
half hour's delay to ^eat a real English 
beefsteak and drink genuine English ale on 
the spot, you know.' Diman could hardly 
get over that. He would have hked to enter 
one of the pretty churches, and have heard 
an English service, or would have climbed 
with ardor and scaled the height crowned by 
the castle turrets ; but to go, as the first visit 
in Europe, the Europe of boyish dreams and 
manhood's meditations, — to a restaurant to 
eat and drink, albeit English beef and ale, 
this was a little too much. He could hardly 
be civil all day. Bremen is a quaint but 
rather stupid town now, I find, but then it 
was all poetry and glamour both for Diman 



RECOLLECTIONS BY REV. C. C. TIFFANY. 81 

and myself. After a day in Bremen we went 
down through Hanover to Braunschweig, 
where we were to study till the semester in 
Halle began. How we revelled in Hanover ! 
Here we saw our first palace and marveled at 
its historical pictures. I cannot forget our 
intense amusement at a London cockney, who 
accompanied us through the palace. Diman 
remarked, ' They have here all Napoleon's de- 
feats, hut none of his victories.' ' That 's 
because he never had any,' exclaimed the 
English snob. The fine statue of Leibnitz, in 
the square, called out his admiration as he re- 
peated the fine sentence concerning him, — 
' One who drove all the Sciences abreast.' 

" And now we were in Braunschweig, that 
quaint, lovely town with gallery and cathedral 
and old churches, and a palace and the beauti- 
ful Anlage, the park made out of the old 
ramparts. We studied hard to learn to un- 
derstand spoken German ; and such German 
as we spoke together as we walked there ! 
Our host, Herr Sack, who lived just opposite 
the old Domkirche, where Heinrich der Lowe 
and Qiieen Caroline, Hhe murdered queen of 
England,' lie buried, was an antiquarian, and 
Diman reveled in his old manuscripts and 
coins and autographs. Here we gained a 



82 MEMOIRS. 

genuine smack of the old flavor which pervades 
the atmosphere of the old historic towns. We 
visited Wolfenblittel, hard by where Lessing 
had been librarian, and had written ' Nathan 
der AYeise.' We made an excursion into the 
Hartz Mountains, and climbed through the 
Elsethal to the Brocken, and mounted the 
Devil's Pulpit, where is laid the scene of 
Goethe's Walpurgis Nacht, in Faust. Every 
day unfolded something new of the old, and 
work found its potent stimulus in all our sur- 
roundings. Six weeks soon fled, and we were 
at Halle, the great centre of theological in- 
terest at that time. Though reticent, Diman 
made much impression on his distinguished 
teachers, and his fellow - American students 
soon looked upon him as their chief. He en- 
joyed his studies ; he also enjoyed greatly the 
social life in the Professors' families where he 
was welcomed, and the Kneij^en and Yerhhi' 
dungen of the students which he visited. It 
was a winter oi earnest and arduous study, 
and we were ready for the spring vacation 
when we left Halle and went to Munich for 
our holiday." 



CHAPTER V. 

1855-1856. AET. 24-25. 

Leipsic. — Dresden Gallery, Nuremberg. — Munich. — Hei- 
delberg. — Matriculation. — Lectures. — German Specula- 
tion. — Translation from Paul Gerhardt. — Calls on Bunsen. 
— Umbreit. — Reminiscences of Bunsen. — Switzerland. — 
Travel. — Berlin. — Lepsius. — Althaus. — Nitzsch. — 
Trendelenburg. — First Sermon written. — Prayer-Meet- 
ing. — Strauss. — Recollections by Rev. C. C. Tiffany. — 
Travel. — Paris. — London. — Maurice. — Industrial 
Schools. — House of Commons. — Travel in England. — 
First Sermon preached. — Scotland. — Return Home. 

The two students left Halle March 17th, 
going to Leipsic for a day, thence to Dresden, 
where a week was spent, chiefly in the gallery. 
The pictures of interest were noted, and art 
studied with the same thoroughness and care 
that was lately bestowed on theology. The 
first day in the gallery is always confusing, 
particularly as it was " raw and uncomfortable, 
especially to me, suffering with a cold. Found 
nothing in the early German school that 
pleased me. A little disappointed with the 
Italian masters, though there were some that 
answered all my desires. I was hardly in a 



84 MEMOIRS. 

state to judge them. Paul Veronese and 
Titian disappointed me, except the Tribute 
Money of the latter." Other pictures that 
pleased him were mentioned, but he says, " far 
above all these, the divine Madonna, in which 
all my ideal of art is realized. 

" March 20. At the gallery again with un- 
ceasing admiration of its treasures. Found 
much to admire that I had passed over yester- 
day, and admired more what I had before no- 
ticed." The week was spent in sight-seeing, 
and everything of interest noted. Two days 
followed in Nuremberg, which were greatly 
enjoyed. 

"March 26. After breakfast made the com- 
plete circuit of the city, examining its ancient 
defenses, and nimibering its quaint and mas- 
sive towers. Then visited again the St. Law- 
rence church, and went on a pilgrimage to 
the house of Hans Sachs. Had previously 
seen that of Albert Diirer. Derived the 
greatest enjojnnent from the quaint and beauti- 
fid architecture of the city, its high roofs, its 
numerous little turrets, and its elaborately 
carved windows. The Middle Ao-es were all 
about us." 

A fortnight was spent in Munich, chiefly 
in the Pinacothek, and in visiting the artists' 



THE PINACOTHEK. 85 

studios. Furness was then in Munich, and 
several visits to his studio are mentioned. Al- 
most every day a visit to the gallery was made 
and some fresh impression recorded. 

''March 28. Got as far as the Rubens 
Hall in the centre, and was more impressed 
with his paintings than ever before. 

''April 2. Delighted with the beggars and 
children of Murillo. Pleased with Domeni- 
chino, but not with the Italians in general. 

"April 4. All the morning at the Pina- 
cothek, looking at Italian paintings. More 
pleased with the Holy Family of Raphael. 
Saw many of his earliest paintings in the style 
of Perugino. Several by Perugino, and fine 
ones by Andrea del Sarto. The Italian paint- 
ings please me more and more. 

"April 7. Not well satisfied with the De- 
struction of Jerusalem by Kaulbach. Exqui- 
site in detail, but seems to lack unity as a 
whole. Too many ideas are crowded on the 
canvas. The mind hesitates between them. 
The supernatural element, too, is too palpably 
introduced. Not enousrh is left to the imao^- 
ination. There is something; inconorruous in 
a Roman general being preceded by a band 
of angels with white wings." 

At the end of the entries for Munich the 



86 MEMOIRS. 

journal contains a list of the paintings in the 
Pinacothek which were particular favorites. 
They embrace works by forty-one masters, 
each with a few descriptive words so that they 
may easily be recalled. The careful study 
given the subject afterward bore fruit in some 
of Mr. Diman's most charming lectures and 
essays. 

Augsburg and Ulm had a passing visit, 
and April 12th they arrived in Heidelberg. 
" Took a stroll up to the old castle, where we 
had a magnificent view. The old ruins en- 
chanted me. 

'^ April 17. Feel well pleased with Heidel- 
berg in every respect, and look forward to a 
delightful summer. Am struck with the 
cleanness of the streets, the meanness of the 
University buildings, the solidity of the gates, 
the peculiar situation of the town, the small- 
ness of the steamboats, the ugliness of the 
river craft, and in general with the exceedingly 
deliberate manner in which the arts of naviga- 
tion seem to be practiced by the men. 

"April 24. Heard a lecture from Schofer- 
lein on Theolocfical Ethics. The matter was 
interesting, but the manner dull. 

''April 28. We went to the University at 
twelve o'clock to-day and were matriculated. 



GERMAN SPECULATION. 87 

Process by no means so long and complicated 
as at Halle. Got through it in an hour. 

''April 30. This afternoon heard Mitter- 
maier, the great lecturer on Criminal Law. 
The room was crowded. His personal appear- 
ance is very striking, as his hair and beard 
are perfectly white. He lectured with great 
animation, and with a profusion of illustra- 
tion. His mode of address was very simple, 
almost undignified, and his profanity was enor- 
mous, even according to a German standard. 

"Am very much interested now in Rothe's 
lectures on the Logical Process of Develop- 
ment of the Deity. Chevalier Bunsen says 
that it is the greatest course of lectures now 
read in Germany. Feel German speculation 
is every day becoming less and less misty. 
Love this deep view, and this constant strug- 
gle after unity. Had a talk with Simon to-day 
on the subject. His interest is concentrated 
on the objective nature of the Atonement, mine 
on the Person of Christ. Feel more and more 
every day, that the common prevailing notions 
with us on the subject are grossly erroneous. 
Feel that while Christ was the ideal man, so 
it is ever to be the aim of every one in the 
same manner to realize the ideal man, and 
thus be also a manifestation of the Logos in 



88 MEMOIRS. 

the flesh. Each believer should be the living 
word of God. 

" May 13. Sunday. Have amused myself 
in translating two verses from Paul Gorhardt, 
whom I greatly love. 

GOTT, MEIN SCHOPFER, EDLER FiJRST. 

O Lord, Creator, King of Heaven, 

Thou Father of my life, 
If not to Thee that life is given, 

I wage an empty strife. 
Living — my spirit dwells in Death, 

Wedded to sin alone ; 
Who, wallowing in the mire of sin, 
Forgets the nobler Life within, 

True Life has never known. 

O happy he, who constant feeds 

From food and drink of Heaven, 
Who nothing sees, nor tastes, nor needs 

Beyond what Thou hast given ; 
Gift of that mystic life, the Spring, 

That man with God shall spend, 
That Life where angels joyous sing, 
Where songs of praise forever ring, 

Forever, without end. 

May 28th to June 2d was occupied by a 
walking trip on the Rhine, which was greatly 
enjoyed. 

"June 18. Loomis and I called on Bunsen.^ 

1 " Bunsen was greatly impressed by Diniau's fine eye and 
forehead, and by his scholarly deference and intelligent 
questionings," writes Kev. C. C. Tiffany. 



CONVERSATIONS WITH BUNSEN. 89 

Found him in the garden. A fat, cordial 
man, with noble forehead, and most benevo- 
lent-looking face. We had a long conversa- 
tion, chiefly on the principles of editing the 
text of the New Testament. He praised 
Lachmann, but spoke very disparagingly of 
Tischendorf, whom he termed a coxcomb. 
When I was first introduced he paid a com- 
pliment to Rhode Island, saying that it had a 
proud history. 

" June 29. In the afternoon we called on 
Bunsen. Saw him, as usual, in the garden. 
He asked about American politics, the relation 
of the Know-nothings to slavery, etc. Said 
he agreed with Sumner. 

" Jidy 20. Called upon Bunsen. He gave 
us his grounds for the antiquity of language, 
and explained quite fully the work on which 
he is now engaged on the Bible. Asked 
about the Catholic schools in America. A 
sudden storm detained us awhile, and we had 
a pleasant conversation with Mrs. Bunsen. 

" July 23. Heard Umbreit this morning, 
on the 118th Psalm ; a remarkable man, with 
white locks and pleasing countenance. His 
style of lecturing was clear and pleased me. 

" August 3. T. and I took tea at Bunsen's. 
Met there Mr. and Mrs. Hill, the missionaries 



90 MEMOIRS. 

at Athens, and the daughter of the Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury. 

" August 10. Called this afternoon to take 
leave of Chevalier Bunsen. Had a long con- 
versation. He once more expressed his desire 
that the Baptists and Congregationalists in 
America might become one. Spoke earnestly 
of the defects in the Unitarian system, but 
approvingly of Channing. He took leave of 
us with great kindness." 

So ended the four months' stay in Heidel- 
berg. The lectures seem to have made less 
impression than those at Halle. Mr. Diman 
and his friend Loomis " concluded that we 
had derived but little from Kothe." But 
the intercourse with Chevalier Bunsen was 
something that left an indelible impression, 
and to which he often referred in his after- 
life. The beautiful walks about the city, and 
into the country, which were of almost daily 
occurrence, were also a source of delight and 
pleasant memory. The last week of his stay 
was made bright by the arrival of his brother 
Henry. " I was glad enough to see him. 
We passed nearly the whole day in conversa- 
tion about home, his travels, etc." At the 
death of Bunsen, in 1860, Mr. Diman wrote of 
him : — 



CHARLOTTENBURG. 91 

'' Those who have wandered amid the ruins 
of the old castle of Heidelberg may remember 
on the opposite bank of the river a capacious 
but unpretending house, its yellow walls al- 
most washed by the water, its terraced and 
well-shaded garden enough raised above the 
road to secure privacy, without hiding any 
feature of the surrounding scenery. In this 
garden, of a pleasant summer afternoon. Bun- 
sen was almost always to be found seated in 
an easy-chair, sipping his cup of coffee, and 
conversing with some visitor. Few men of 
mark came to Heidelberg without wending 
their way across the old bridge to that hospi- 
table mansion. 

" The young Americans, who were at that 
time students of the neighboring University, 
were welcomed with especial kindness. Partly 
from a generous interest that seemed never 
weary of rendering assistance, and partly, 
without doubt, from that disposition so often 
shown by men of original ideas to surround 
themselves with impressible spirits, Bunsen 
seemed to take a peculiar pleasure in convers- 
ing with young men. His eye would sparkle, 
his voice would become tremulous, his whole 
being would seem alive when expatiating on 
his favorite topics to them, who, if they felt 



92 MEMOIRS. 

disposed to question his conclusions^ had Httle 
opportunity to do so. 

" Those who know Bunsen only through his 
booksj where unaccustomed ideas are often 
clothed in involved and scholastic style, can 
form no conception of the surpassing charm 
of his conversation. In person he was below 
the middle height, inclined to corpulence, 
and with nothing in his external appearance 
that attested his wonderful industry. His 
head was finely formed, and his face, with its 
regular outline and delicately chiselled feat- 
ures, was handsome. His knowledge of Eng- 
lish was only too exact, robbing his sentences 
of that careless grace that marks the perfect 
master of discourse. His command of words 
seemed unlimited, and the fire and eloquence 
with which he would enter at once on some 
chance topic suggested by a visitor, some 
question, perhaps, of biblical interpretation 
or ecclesiastical antiquities, the boundless eru- 
dition with which he would illustrate his argu- 
ments, the facility with which he would quote 
the various readings of some disputed text, 
the earnestness with which he would contro- 
vert any opposing views, rendered intercourse 
with him as delightful as it was instructive." 

Then follow two crowded and delightful 



VACATION WANDERINGS. 93 

months of travel. A walking trip in Switzer- 
land was taken, and all the usual ascents in 
Chamouny were made and recorded with en- 
thusiasm. From August 21st in Geneva, till 
September 13th in Zurich, a merry party of 
six students spent most of the time walking. 
Then a few days of sharp illness overtook Mr. 
Diman. " High fever, and throat badly swol- 
len. Dr. came, young but good. Felt very 
sick and uncomfortable." 

" Aug. 16. In bed all day, but better, 
though throat still very sore. Began to feel 
restive at the delay. Savage and Tiffany very 
kind." The next day they pushed on, cross- 
ing the lake by boat. The party separated, 
and Mr. Diman and Mr. Tiffany continued 
their journey for ten days in the Tyrol. A 
week was given to Vienna, a couple of days 
to Prague, and October 15th "reached Dres- 
den. Found Vose and Williston." 

" Oct. 16. All the morning at the gallery ; 
again after dinner. 

" Oct. 17. Morning at the gallery. Stud- 
ied especially the Spanish pictures, the land- 
scapes, Titian's Christ, and the Madonna. 
Left at three for Berlin. And so ended our 
pleasant vacation wanderings. 

" Berlm, Oct. 20. At noon at the Uni- 



94 MEMOIRS. 

versity, but could not be matriculated^ as we 
had no dismission from Heidelberg. 

" Oct 25. Had our first lecture from 
Trendelenburg. Pleased with matter and 
manner. 

" Oct, 27. Heard Yatke on recent History 
of Theology. 

" Oct. 29. This morning heard Ranke on 
the Middle Ages, but found it quite impossible 
to understand him, his style of lecturing is so 
peculiar. Lays his finger on his nose, looks 
up to the ceiling, speaks very rapidly and in- 
distinctly, often lowering his voice to a whis- 
per, wriggles himself out of his chair, to all 
appearance quite lost in his train of ideas. 

" Oct, 31. To-day T. and I were matric- 
ulated, with a crowd of others. The little 
dump of a rector made an eloquent address on 
the importance of observing the laws, and gave 
us the usual right hand of fellowship. 

''Nov, 1. In afternoon heard Lepsius on 
History of Egypt. Much pleased with matter 
and manner. No flourish, but a practical 
way of urging without pretense what he felt 
was worth being said. A younger man than 
I expected. 

" Nov. 3. Heard Althaus on Hegel. 

" Nov, 5, In the evening went with Vose 



BERLIN. 95 

across the bridge to Nitzsch's house. In 
the courtyard students were assembled with 
torches and a band of music, which played as 
they sung. The Professor made a short 
speech from the window. The students again 
sang, the music played, the torches were thrown 
in a heap. Gaudeamus igitur was sung, and 
we dispersed. 

" JSFov. 18, Sunday, Attended the prayer- 
meeting in Tiffany's room. 

" Dec, 1. In the evening, while reading, 
a poor girl came and begged for food, as one 
did a week since. It makes the heart sick 
to witness the poverty and suffering here. 
Hardly a day passes that I do not have some 
call at my room for relief. 

" Dec, 2, In the afternoon went to hunt 
up two girls who had been here begging and 
whose address I had taken. Found no trace 
of one. The other lived in a little dark court ; 
a man, woman, and five children. Mother 
and two children at home. The mother told 
me that her husband was a tailor, that he 
could not always find work, and that when 
he did, got but twenty cents a day. But the 
family below did not give him a good charac- 
ter, and I could not exactly satisfy myself 
that they were fit objects of charity. 



96 MEMOIRS. 

" Dec, 6. This evening, instead of hear- 
ing Nitzsch, heard Ritter, the great geogra- 
pher. Splendid-looking old man ; white hair, 
lofty forehead, large and most hberal collar. 
Spoke of the knowledge the Romans had of 
Germany, their excursions for amber to the 
North Sea. Not highly of the geographical 
and historical value of Tacitus' Germania, 

"Jan, 5. This afternoon T. and I called 
on Trendelenburg. He received us with great 
kindness, and entered into a long conversation. 
Said that he did not hold with Erdmann 
to German philosophy as most perfect, and 
thought that true philosophy would be a 
mingling of the thought of all nations, and 
peculiar to none. 

" Jan. 7. This evening attended with 
Tiffany the first lecture before the Evange- 
lische Verein, by Professor Hegel of Rostock, 
on the Missions to the Germans. Merely a 
historical epitome, with a single reference to 
Bunsen's attack upon Boniface. 

" Jan. 13. Finished my first sermon, which 
I have been busy over all the week. This 
evening Tiffany, Davis, and I took tea with 
Professor Trendelenburg. Quite a large party 
of students assembled. Saw his wife and 
sister. Sat by his side at table, and had a 



CONVERSA TION WITH S TRA USS. 9 7 

long conversation about the discovery of the 
new Greek book, which is now exciting so 
much interest among literary men. 

"Jan, 20. At the meeting this evening 
we had a long conversation on the need of a 
deep religious experience as a preparation for 
preaching. Afterwards Loomis and Tiffany 
took tea with me, and we passed the evening 
in discussing our theological opinions in view 
of our approaching examinations. 

" Jan, 22. This afternoon heard Von 
Raumer on the reign and character and mis- 
tresses of Louis XIY. Only ten present. 
Nothing striking in his appearance or manner, 
or much in handling the subject. 

" Jan, 30. This afternoon went with 
Tiffany and passed an hour with Pri vat-doc. 
Strauss. Met his father the preacher, and a 
certain major, all very pious and orthodox. 
Over coffee and cigars we discussed the con- 
dition and prospects of religion. Conversation 
turned first on their mission in Jerusalem, 
then to the Baptists. They all agreed with 
Stahl that no proselyting should be permit- 
ted. Spoke of a great revival of religion that 
took place here thirty years ago, since which 
time, they said, the condition of the Prussian 
churches had been constantly improving. 



98 MEMOIRS. 

"Feb. 12. Been all day writing an account 
of the Bunsen and state controversy for the 
Bib, Sacra,^^ 

This review of Bunsen's book on the " Signs 
of the Times/' covering five closely printed 
pages, appeared in the Bibliotheca Sacra for 
April, 1856. To it is added an account of 
forged manuscript of Simonides, the " new 
Greek book " referred to, which a committee 
of the Royal Academy of Berlin had pro- 
nounced genuine, but which the learning of 
Lepsius detected as spurious. 

"Feb, 17. In the evening we were at 
Professor Trendelenburg's. At the table sat 
by the side of Mrs. T., and had a most 
pleasaijt conversation about the Germans in 
America, church music, Luther's hymns, etc. 
The Professor showed us a late Bib, Sacra, 
which had an article from Angell on Geibel, 
over which Mrs. Trendelenburg made herself 
quite merry on account of blunders in the 
printing of German words. At the close of 
the evening, when the conversation had turned 
on political theories, I astonished them all by 
an assertion of the necessity of parties to a 
free government, well gerade deswegen ist es 
naturlich und gesund. The Professor at first 
denied, but when I had explained, acknowl- 
edged that there was something in it. 



LAST WEEKS IN BERLIN. 99 

" Feb, 22. This evening heard with great 
delight the beautiful opera of Orpheus and 
Eurydiee, by Gluck. All the parts were by 
females, that of Orpheus by Wagner. She 
appeared to great advantage in classical dress, 
and sung beautifully. 

''Feb, 24. In the morning enjoyed very 
much a sermon from Nitzsch on the tempta- 
tion of Peter. In the evening at our meeting 
we had a long discussion about the Christian 
year, and Liturgies. 

" March 5. In the afternoon with Davis 
and Tiffany to coffee with Dr. Strauss. Met 
there a number of gentlemen. We had a warm 
discussion about the Evangelical Alliance. 
Strauss could not join it because it was too 
strong against the Catholics, and too much in 
favor of religious freedom. He wished to see 
the alliance a confederacy of churches, and 
not of individuals. The Moravian minister 
exposed the sins of state churches, especially 
in reference to the sacraments, and strongly- 
urged the rights of personality, urging that 
Heaven would consist of individuals not 
of churches. 

" March 9. Had our usual prayer meeting 
at six. All felt deep regret that it was the 
last. Called on the Trendelenburgs to bid 



100 MEMOIRS. 

good-bye. Had a pleasant chat as usual with 
Mrs. Trendelenburg." 

And so ends Berlin, and with it student 
life in Germany. 

" There was much in Berlin," writes Rev. 
C. C. Tiffany, " to develop the aesthetic as well 
as the philosophical side of Diman's mind, 
and traces of it may be found in the elegance 
which characterized every sentence he wrote. 
We saw less student hfe, but in company we 
studied Kugler's hand-book of art, and then 
on Saturdays walked up and down the admi- 
rable museum of pictures to illustrate our 
reading. We often went to the Beethoven 
concerts, and the finer operas, and learned to 
know what true musical interpretation meant. 
We were often at the embassy, where Gov. 
Yroom, our minister, dispensed frequent hospi- 
tality, and where we met members of the dip- 
lomatic corps. Indeed, this winter at Berlin 
had a cosmopolitan influence. It ended the 
purely student life of Lewis Diman, but was 
a fitting capstone to the culture which it 
crowned." 

March 10, Mr. Diman and Mr. Tiffany 
took their way toward Paris. Wittenberg and 
Weimar were visited, and a day spent with the 
friends in Halle. At Eisenach they " climbed 



JOURNEY TOWARD PARIS. 101 

the Wartburg ; saw first in the castle the rooms 
which are being piously restored to the old 
Byzantine style. Among them the hall in 
which the famous contest of the Minnesin- 
gers took place, which we had seen represented 
in the Tannhauser. Then saw the room 
which Luther used, which is in its original 
condition, and is very uncomfortable-looking. 
From the windows of the castle a beautiful 
prospect in all directions. Fine hills covered 
with woods." Thence they pursued their way 
to Brussels, stopping at the places of interest 
on the way. 

" March 18. Spent the day at Waterloo. 
Greatly interested in fighting the battle over 
again." 

Three busy weeks were spent in Paris. 

''March 23. This morning we went to 
Notre Dame, to hear grand mass performed 
by the archbishop. The church was crowded. 
We made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain 
places for the Te Deum which followed, for 
the birth of the imperial prince, who to-day 
completes his first week. 

" March 24. After a day of sight-seeing 
for an hour or two before dinner, I strolled 
about in the garden of the Tuileries, watching 
the boys sailing their boats in the basins of 



102 MEMOIRS. 

the fountains ; the gold fish that put their 
noses out of the water to nibble crumbs, and 
the swans. In the evening we went to the 
Italian opera to hear Grisi and Mario, in Lu- 
cretia Borgia. Disappointed in Grisi, but 
much pleased with Mario. The house itself 
seemed very small and mean in comparison 
with the opera-house at Berlin. 

" Ajjril 1. We went to-day at twelve over 
to the Champs de Mars to see a grand review 
in honor of the peace. The streets all the 
way crowded with troops, and citizens hasten- 
ing to the scene. We found the vast enclos- 
ure densely crowded with people. Had a 
pressing experience of a Paris crowd ; found 
them very good-natured and jovial. In- 
tensely hot, and obliged to wait an hour and 
a half before the Emperor came on the ground. 
He arrived at half past one, accompanied by 
a numerous and brilliant staff, including 
the plenipotentiaries of the Peace Congress. 
After riding along the vast lines of troops he 
took his stand in front of the military school, 
and the troops marched before him. The 
scene was splendid and impressive. There 
seemed no end to the long ranks of infantry, 
the rattling artillery, and the glittering cav- 
alry. More than 50,000 in all. In the even- 



MAURICE AT LINCOLN'S INN. 103 

ing walked the boulevards with Wilcox to see 
the illuminations, like our 4th of July." 

Numerous visits to the Louvre are recorded, 
and special mention made of the pictures ad- 
mired ; but " on the whole/' he writes, " I have 
not found in the gallery of the Louvre so 
much enjoyment as in the other large galleries 
I have visited." 

'^ April 7. Went to the Sorbonne, and 
attended a lecture on astronomy. Found stu- 
dents and lecture were much the same as in 
Germany." 

April 9, the two students left Paris for 
London, where a busy fortnight was spent. 

" April 12. Walked through St. James 
and Hyde Park, and as we were coming back 
met the Queen and received a bow from her. 
Noticed that her Majesty had a very red nose. 
Found cards from the Lord Mayor to dinner 
on Thursday to meet the American minister. 

" April 13. In the afternoon went to Lin- 
coln's Inn and heard Maurice. He preached 
on John v. 1-20. Sermon was very simple 
but not very clear, especially with reference to 
what was meant by the angel. His tone was 
earnest and sincere, and on the whole I was 
much delighted. His appearance is pleasing, 
and corresponds to the idea that I had formed 



104 MEMOIRS. 

from his writings. The psalms were beauti- 
fully chanted by a double choir of men and 
boys standing on opposite sides of the chapel 
and responding to each other. The responses 
and amens of the clerk here, as at the morn- 
ing service, were a jar. The chapel is interest- 
ing, the main window being made of the arms 
of old of&cers of the society. Beneath we 
noticed a crypt with finely ribbed vaulting. 
Lincoln's Inn Fields looked very pleasant in 
their dress of early spring." 

Of Maurice, Mr. Diman wrote later : " No 
one could forget, who had ever heard those 
sad sonorous tones that used to fill the chapel 
of Lincoln's Inn, tones at once charged with 
humility and with conviction, as if almost 
shrinking from giving audible expression to 
verities which the heart accepted and loved." 

" April 14. Attended a meeting at Willis' 
rooms in behalf of Christian missions in Tur- 
key, the Earl of Shaftesbury in the chair. 
Heard speeches from Sir Robert Grosvenor 
and others, all warmly eulogizing the labors 
of the American Board, and expressing the 
most cordial feelings toward America. 

"April 16. Met by appointment Rev. Mr. 
Malone, and with him went to the worst parts 
of Westminster, visiting the industrial school 



LONDON. 105 

for boys, the ragged schools, the washing 
and bathing house, the reformatory, and the 
asylum for destitute girls. Examined with 
especial care the reformatory, which will hold 
about 100, but now has only 16. Only 
voluntary inmates are admitted, who must 
undergo a fortnight's probation, and after a 
year's residence are generally sent abroad." 

The Lord Mayor's dinner is described, and 
many expeditions in and about London. 

" April 25. Went to the House of Com- 
mons, where we heard a great many amusing 
complaints growing out of the late naval re- 
view. Heard Lord Palmerston, Sir Charles 
Ward, and others. Saw Lord John Russell, 
Disraeli, etc. 

''May 1. My 25th birthday. A dark rainy 
day. We went this morning into the city 
and made arrangements to ship our trunks to 
Liverpool. Afterwards to J. B. Ford's^ Old 
Bond St., where I secured a berth in the 
steamer Niagara to sail on the 24th for Bos- 
ton. Then to the London bridge, where we 
took steamer for Greenwich. At home all 
the evening packing my trunk, rejoiced to 
think that it was the last time. And so ends 
life in London." 

The remaining twenty-four days of the stay 



106 MEMOIRS. 

were spent in rapid travel in England and 
Scotland. 

^' May 2. To Eoyston near Cambridge, to 
visit our old Halle friend, Simon. 

^^ May 4. Royston. Preached in morn- 
ing my first sermon." 

Warwick, Stratford, Kenilworth, Rugby, 
and Chatsworth follow, and May lOth "ar- 
rived at York. Saw the minster and chap- 
ter house, castle, and ruins of St. Mary's 
Abbey." 

Thence by way of Newcastle, Berwick, Mel- 
rose and Abbotsford, to Edinburgh, where a 
couple of days were spent. A little trip in 
the Highlands followed. 

^' May 16. After a day of travel, had time 
to walk down to Loch Katrine and see a fine 
sunset." Three days were spent in walking 
and rowing on the lochs, and the short stay 
among the English lakes. 

" May 20. After dinner had a fine row on 
Derwentwater. 

" May 21. Had a pull on Lake Winder- 
mere. 

"-May 22. Eoggy and rainy. Rode to 
Windermere and took train to Liverpool. 

" May 24. Bade Tiffany farewell, my com- 
panion for nearly two years, and sailed for 
home in Cunard steamer Niagara. 



RETURN HOME. 107 

" June 5. Reached Boston at sunrise. Met 
father at the Tremont House; at half past 
ten went with him by train to Providence. So 
ended the long dream of my student life 
abroad." 



CHAPTEK VI. 

1856-1860. AET. 25-29. 

Licensed to preach by the Essex South Association. — Sor- 
row. — First Congregational Church in Fall River. — Let- 
ters to Miss Emily G. Stimson — To Rev. J. O. Murray — 
To Dr. Shepard. — Calls to other Churches. — Correspon- 
dence with Dr. Horace Bushnell. — Call to Hartford de- 
clined. — To Rev. J. O. Murray. — Manner in the Pulpit. 
— Letters to Miss Emily G. Stimson. — State of Mind. — 
Human Destiny. — Dr. Bellow's Sermons. — Jacqueline 
Pascal. — Robertson. — Clarendon. — Theodore Parker. — 
Pascal. — Resignation of the Pastorate. — Death of Mr. 
Stimson. 

At Salem, Massachusetts, on the 1st of 
July, 1856, there was a meeting of the Essex 
South Association of Ministers, " whose views 
of evangelical truth accord substantially with 
those of the Westminster Assembly of Di- 
vines." By this association Mr. Diman was 
licensed to preach, " having been carefully 
examined in regard to his Christian character, 
the soundness of his faith, his acquaintance 
with theology and literature, and his ability 
to teach." 

The Old South Church in Boston, and the 



FALL RIVER. 109 

First Congregational Church in Fall River 
sought to secure him. It was at this time 
that a great sorrow came to him, in the 
sudden death of Miss Maria R. Stimson, to 
whom he was engaged to be married. This 
grief, for the time, darkened his life, till, as 
he himself said, God led him " by paths he 
had not known " into the serene happiness of 
after years. 

In deference to Mr. Diman's bereavement, 
the church at Fall River withheld their call 
for several weeks, " but when at length it was 
made," Mr. Diman writes at the end of Sep- 
tember, " I did not feel justified in subjecting 
them to any further delay. I have accord- 
ingly accepted their invitation." He entered 
upon his new duties at once, and on the 9th 
of December was ordained as pastor. 

The following letters show the spirit in 
which he began his labors : — 

TO MISS EMILY G. STIMSON. 

Fall River, December 21, 1856. 

... Another Sabbath day is passed, to me 
a season of high enjoyment, so that I begin 
already to look forward with impatience to 
the next, when I shall again be permitted 
to preach the Word of Life. My sermon 



110 MEMOIRS. 

this morning was especially addressed to the 
church, from John xv. 5. I have had a pretty 
busy day, and have preached twice, conducted 
a third service this evening, making some ex- 
temporaneous remarks, been into the Sabbath 
school, and have made, besides, five pastoral 
visits among my sick. But I am not tired. 
It is labor that carries with it every moment 
its own exceeding great reward, and every day 
I bless more and more that Providence which 
has made me a minister of Jesus Christ. . . . 
I feel very often my own great deficiencies, 
and pray for a deeper experience in my own 
heart, and for a more entire consecration. If 
I am to expect the blessing of God upon my 
labors, my meat and my drink must be to do 
his will. . . . Hopeless, indeed, would the 
task seem if the conversion of men rested 
on our efforts alone. There is another and 
mightier power which alone can render the 
truth effectual. 

TO THE REV. JAMES O. MURRAY. 

Fall River, February 16, 1857. 

. . . The first months of pastoral life come 
laden with many cares ; in my own case, per- 
haps, with an unusual number, as there has 
been a great amount of sickness in the parish. 



FIRST MONTHS OF PASTORAL LIFE. Ill 

It was work, however, full of the highest con- 
solations, for my own sadness was soothed by 
the thought that I was doing what I could to 
lessen that of others. You can imao^ine what 
a new chapter it opened in life, to assume the 
solemn duties of the ministry, and in the first 
week to stand at three dying bedsides. 

The course which everything has taken has 
been in the highest degree gratifying, and I 
am not aware of a single circumstance that 
should cause me to regret my decision in 
coming here. In the church everything is 
harmonious, and in the congregation there has 
been a decided increase. There are indica- 
tions of a deeper seriousness than usual. 

My first Sunday was signalized by the in- 
auguration of a new order of morning service, 
which has given great satisfaction, and adds 
to the interest of public worship. I shall 
eventually make still further modifications. 

Parish duties break in necessarily to some 
extent upon the hours of study, but the long 
winter evenings have given me opportunity to 
prosecute a plan, which I entered upon while 
abroad, to perfect my acquaintance with the 
spirit and thought of the apostolic age. To 
this end I have read Barnabas and Clemens, 
and design going through with the Apostolic 



112 MEMOIRS. 

Fathers in course. They yield nothing be- 
yond a more vivid conception of the early 
Christianity, and how different in its whole 
mode of thought and doctrine from our own. 
Genesis, too, has claimed more of my attention 
in connection with Ewald's History. I con- 
gratulate myself that on many of these ques- 
tions I was not subjected to the strict exami- 
nation which would have awaited me in Bos- 
ton. 

The baptismal font, to which the following 
letter refers, still stands in the Congregational 
church at Bristol. 

TO REV. THOMAS SHEPARD, D. D. 

Fall River, January 18, 1857. 

Keverend and Dear Sir, — As a token 
of mv undiminished interest in the church to 
which for nearly two centuries my ancestors 
have belonged, and of which for fifty years 
my grandfather was pastor, I ask leave to 
present to it this baptismal font. May it do 
something to connect the past with the future, 
and to keep alive with those who shall come 
after us the remembrance of those who have 
gone before. 



MEDITATING UPON TRUTH. 113 

TO MISS EMILY G. STIMSON. 

9 

Fall River, April 14, 1857. 

If it were only as easy to write as to talk, 
then what a famous correspondent I should 
be, — but, alas, the pen is not the tongue — 
which scribbles away merrily on the ear, with- 
out the preliminary ceremony of being dipped 
into an inkstand. These sober reflections have 
been suggested to me by the contemplation of 
some dozen letters in my drawer, now waiting 
patiently to be answered. 

I have thought a good deal about the sub- 
ject of our conversation one morning last 
week, the use, or rather the necessity of medi- 
tating upon truth, or to me a word which you 
did not seem to relish, doctrine. . . . These 
questions are not empty speculations, like 
many of the questions of philosophy, but spring 
by an immediate and irresistible necessity from 
the practical demands of our moral nature. 
Augustin, Pascal, Edwards, John Foster, were 
not led to ponder these subjects by mere curi- 
osity, they were absolutely driven to them by 
an inward experience of sublime energy. Just 
in proportion as the moral faculties are devel- 
oped will these questions force themselves upon 
the mind for solution. It avails nothing to 



114 MEMOIRS. 

say they can never be solved. We are not so 
much led to them by the expectation of defi- 
nite and practical results, as driven to them by 
an inward impulse of our nature. It is not so 
much the truth itself as the search after it, 
the exciting and vigorous exercise of all our 
faculties that does us good. 

Then the emotions, though they are the 
basis of religion, can never furnish the highest 
development of religious life. The soul needs 
also to breathe the bracing atmosphere of 
thought. It needs for its own healthful 
growth to meditate upon these great ques- 
tions, which, though they lie out of the circle 
of immediate practical usefulness, yet exercise 
a mighty influence over the whole develop- 
ment of thought and character. 

TO REV. JAMES O. MURRAY. 

Fall River, February 18, 1858. 

. . . With changes all about us so sudden, 
and so overwhelming, who can look with any 
confidence to the future. For my own. part I 
have renounced all day-dreams and castle- 
building. I think often of the striking anec- 
dote of the old monk at Madrid, pointing to 
the picture on the altar, from which the forms 
stood out with the freshness of life, and saying 



CHURCH RELATIONS. 115 

" that as he thought how all his companions 
one by one had been taken away, it seemed as 
if they were the shadows and these figures the 
realities." ... To tell the truth, I am more 
sober for having recently been reading the 
" Life and Letters of Byron/' which, by the 
way, have given me a far deeper sympathy 
with him than his poetry ever awakened. 

My own work goes on as usual. Respecting 
the matter which we discussed together I am 
no nearer a conclusion. That by changing 
my church relations I should be more useful 
or happy, is by no means clear. At times I 
think we make most progress when dissatisfied 
and yearning. Content in this life is often 
but another name for spiritual torpor. . . . 

The matter under discussion was the advisa- 
bility of Mr. Diman's entering the Episcopal 
Church. Toward it he had strong inclination, 
and for several years the question occupied his 
mind. The beauty of the liturgy attracted 
him, the " decency and order " of the service 
was grateful to his reverent mind. Through- 
out his life he held that the communion service 
of the Church expressed his own views more 
fully than any treatise on the Atonement. 
This service, and the chapter on Justification, 
in Barclay's Apology, he once recommended 



116 MEMOIRS. 

as being tlie most complete and spiritual ex- 
positions of the great truths of Christianity. 

While in Fall River several churches tried 
to obtain Mr. Diman's services. The Hugue- 
not Church of Charleston, S. C, approached 
him on the subject, in the autumn of 1857. 
The next year he was desired to confer with 
certain gentlemen who visited him on behalf 
of the Mercer Street Presbyterian Church of 
New York. The following year the Shawmut 
Street Church of Boston sought him. All 
these offers were promptly refused on the 
ground that Mr. Diman did not feel at liberty 
to take any step toward severing his connection 
with his parish, having been in it so short a 
time. 

A call which made more impression upon 
him was from Hartford in 1858. In the 
spring of that year Dr. Horace Bushnell vis- 
ited Fall River. Dr. Bushnell's failing health 
made it necessary that he should have a col- 
league. He admired Mr. Diman greatly, and 
desired him to take the office. 

FROM DR. BUSHNELL. 

Hartford, May 31, 1858, 
I know not how it is, but I have taken 
to you with a feeling I never expected to 



LETTER FROM DR. BUSHNELL. 117 

have toward any one who might come into 
such a peculiar relation, and finally take my 
place. I think I am drawn to you thus by a 
higher than merely human affinity, by the pri- 
vate impulse of God. So that if only I had a 
mantle, I should be quite ready to put it on 
you. . . . The proposition is that while I re- 
tain the name of pastor, in accordance with 
the wish of my people, and you take the place 
of associate pastor, it be understood, as be- 
tween us, for nobody else can settle any such 
arrangement, that you are to be the real re- 
sponsible active pastor, only consulting me 
when you choose, and using me to preach if 
I am able, in such ways as will best serve 
your convenience. Everything is from the 
first to be in your hand. ... I only add here 
that my symptoms are looking all the time to 
my speedy removal. I do not really expect 
to live for a year. 

I pass to the matters of duty, for I am quite 
willing with you to throw out of the question 
all considerations of position, ambition, taste 
and the like, and rest the question wholly on 
the matter of duty. God grant that you may 
have grace to hold the question away and 
apart from every other test. . . . 



118 MEMOIRS. 

Then follow eight pages of argument on 
the question, ending with an invitation to 
come to Hartford to preach. 

TO DR. HORACE BUSHNELL. 

Fall River, June 5, 1858. 

You will not, I am sure, suspect me of 
any want of courtesy, when I decline wholly 
to accede to your proposition to preach in Hart- 
ford. Under ordinary circumstances nothing 
could afford me greater pleasure, but while I 
remain the pastor of this church, I cannot 
consistently with my own views of honorable 
dealing, either directly or indirectly, present 
myself as a candidate to any other. The 
same consideration forces me to decline your 
kind invitation to visit you. 

Let me add, too, that further consideration 
has not disposed me to recognize more than 
at first the conclusions of your arguments, and 
therefore if your church chooses to proceed 
any further in this matter, it must be wholly 
on their own responsibility. 

FROM DR. BUSHISTELL. 

Hartford, June 7, 1858. 

Your note of Saturday is just received, and 
I must say that I heartily respect your an- 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. BUSHNELL, 119 

swers to my requests. . . . As I just now 
read your note to my wife she said, as her 
conclusion, " I like him ! " The only thing / 
do not like is that you make so little of my 
arguments. 

Dr. Bushnell was too deeply interested in 
the plan to think of relinquishing it, and the 
church proceeded to appoint a committee to 
recommend a colleague. This committee after 
visiting Fall River, reported on the 6th of 
July, and the church formally invited Mr. 
Diman to become associate pastor, "as a 
man eminently endowed and qualified for that 
office." 

FEOM DR. BUSHNELL. 

Hartford, July 8, 1858. 
This will introduce to your acquaintance 
my very dear friends Messrs. Dunham and 
Owen, who visit Fall River as delegates from 
the church and society to communicate the 
call which has just been proffered you. I 
can hardly tell you how great satisfaction I 
have in this call, and the perfect unanimity 
of it. ... I hope you will assume whatever 
time is necessary to a wise and right decision 
on your part. Meantime, I will invite you to 
come to Hartford, and be my guest for as long 



120 MEMOIRS. 

time as you please. I should like mightily 
to show you into my pulpit Sunday of next 
week, but you will soon use your own liberty 
in that matter. . . . With many prayers that 
God will guide you into a right decision, I 
am yours with great esteem and affection, 

Horace Bushnell. 

About the middle of July Mr. Diman ac- 
cepted Dr. BushneU's invitation, and went to 
Hartford. Among the incidents of the visit 
were the attentions of Dr. Bushnell's white 
cat. Mr. Diman encouraged her advances in 
the evening twilight, saying he liked cats, 
and allowed her to climb over his knees and 
shoulders. The next morning he was late at 
family prayers. After half an hour's waiting 
the family proceeded to breakfast. At length 
Mr. Diman appeared, explaining, as he smil- 
ingly pointed to the still scattered white hairs 
on his black suit, that the cat had cost him 
an hour's work with the brush, and adding 
that he should never forget her ! In later 
years he often told the story, and laughed 
over his embarrassment, which was, indeed, 
serious for a young minister who was to ap- 
pear before an expectant congregation. 



CALL TO HARTFORD DECLINED. 121 

TO DR. BUSHNELL. 

Fall River, August 2, 1858. 

If I saw any reason to suppose that longer 
delay would modify my decision, I would 
gladly withhold for the present my answer to 
the invitation of your church, but my convic- 
tions since I left Hartford have tended so per- 
sistently in one direction that I feel persuaded 
a longer consideration on my part would only 
be doing injustice to you. I have, therefore, 
to-day, through Mr. Owen, declined the call. 

Ih announcing to you this step, it is hardly 
necessary to recapitulate arguments which 
have been already fully discussed. I have 
endeavored throughout to keep my mind per- 
fectly open to arguments on either side, but I 
have been at no time able to resist the firm 
conviction that the claims of a field where 
experience had demonstrated my acceptance, 
and which held out the promise of increasing 
usefulness, were too imperative to be set aside. 

A further study of the present condition 
of my church convinces me that it would be 
largely detrimental to its interests to dissolve 
so speedily the connection between us, and 
believing that the interests of a connection 
already existing should take precedence of 



122 MEMOIRS. 

any other, I have no alternative but the de- 
cision I have made. 



TO REV. J. O. MURRAY. 

Fall River, October 6, 1858. 

... I was much interested in what you wrote 
of your sermons. You have a capital plan 
marked out, and a rich vein to work in. 
Oddly -enough, something of the same sort has 
been running for some time in my own brain, 
only the idea that I had was to present the 
cardinal features of the old dispensation in 
the form of biographic studies of Moses, etc. 

For a long time my thoughts have been 
more or less directed to the study of the rela- 
tion of the old dispensation to the new, of 
the Law and Grace, and I am looking forward 
some day to an extended examination of the 
Mosaic system in all its scope and significance. 
There is an element in that old Hebrew cul- 
ture that we need to emphasize if we would 
escape the shallow inanities of the present 
day. 

I have been preaching with great interest 
to myself, indeed I never felt more in the 
mood for work than now, satisfied that I did 
a wise thing in remaining here. . . . About 
the De Civitate I think with you. The fact 



MANNER IN THE PULPIT. 123 

is, the folios of the Fathers, with much that 
is deep and true, are nevertheless cart-loads 
of rubbish. 

Mr. Diman's deep love and reverence for 
the office of preacher powerfully affected his 
congregation. His manner in the pulpit was 
most grave and reverent. No hasty gestures, 
no unseemly vehemence marred his chaste, 
severe delivery. The hand, so beautifully 
formed, moved with deliberation, and almost 
solemnly emphasized his words. His utter- 
ance was somewhat rapid, though very clear, 
with a certain urgency which carried his hear- 
ers with him. His voice was well pitched 
and resonant, easily filling large spaces. There 
was something peculiar about it. It seemed 
to flow on, a continuous stream of sound, 
from which the words came perfectly uttered. 
This effect was due largely to the cadence 
of his sentences. They were rhythmic, and 
though his preaching was the farthest remove 
from intoning, the rise and fall of the voice 
was plainly noticeable. In his sermons, he 
had a few habits, which marked the deep re- 
serve which underlay his open and frank man- 
ner. His congregations were not addressed 
as " my friends," but simply as " my hearers." 



124 MEMOIRS. 

On rare occasions, warmed by the power and 
tenderness of his theme, he said " Beloved/' 
using the word as St. Paul does, " beloved in 
the Lord." He usually spoke of Christ as 
" Our Lord," but of His titles none were more 
dear to him than the " Son of Man." 

TO MISS EMILY G. STIMSON, 

Mr. Diman writes : — 

" When preaching gushes forth readily and 
spontaneously, and when all outward nature 
seems in such perfect sympathy with it, it be- 
comes a delightful service. Some one has 
said that preaching ought to be lyrical and 
musical, a flowing song ; the inner life pour- 
ing forth its full tide of emotion. To realize 
this fully doubtless belongs only to the very 
highest order of spirits, and yet I have at 
times felt moments in my extemporaneous 
preaching when my subject seemed suddenly 
to seize me and carry me beyond myself. One 
such gush will redeem a whole sermon, and if 
we led the lives we should, with our sensibili- 
ties ever attuned, and our hearts ever flowing 
over with the divine love, such states would be 
our natural states, a perpetual seraphic ecstasy ; 
so that life itself would flow on like a joyous 
psalm of praise." 



LETTERS TO MISS STIMSON. 125 

The following passages from letters to Miss 
Emily G. Stimson, written in 1859 and 1860, 
give some idea of the extent and variety of Mr. 
Diman's reading, and of his state of mind, 
which he calls one of transition. Of these 
" deeper questions of the soul," which per- 
plexed him about this period of his life, he 
afterward wrote, " I imagine it is an experience 
through which all young persons pass, whose 
spiritual nature is roused to much activity." 

The passage on human destiny is of special 
interest, in connection with the last course of 
lectures Mr. Diman delivered. " Is there 
progress in history ? " he asked. " The ques- 
tion must be limited. There is not progress 
in all directions ; not progress at all times ; 
yet progress on the whole."- He then con- 
fidently went on to show that this progress is 
moral. 

Critical studies of belief and opinion had 
always a great fascination for Mr. Diman. 
His candid mind saw the truth that underlay 
error, and at this period of his life he was 
still laying the foundations of the full and 
deep convictions of maturer years. 

" You doubtless wonder what I mean by a 
disturbance of my ideas. The phrase is not a 



126 MEMOIRS. 

very definite one, but it expresses better than 
anything else the state of mind that I seem to 
be in. The Germans have a phrase that hits 
it exactly, hn Werden, that is, a transitional 
state. Most of the opinions with which I be- 
gan life I have either greatly modified or 
wholly given up, and not yet attained to peace 
and comfort in any other. I used to have 
great faith in human progress and the capac- 
ity of the race for ultimate perfectibility, but 
of late my mind has been a good deal exer- 
cised by the totally opposite views of the mil- 
lenarians, who hold to no solution of the 
problem of human destiny under the present 
dispensation, but look for another. They 
come to a similar conclusion to that of the 
Swedenborgians, though they reach it in a 
very different way. . . . 

" I am intensely interested in Dr. Bellows' 
sermons. For a long time I have not seen 
a book that so reflects the phases of my own 
experience. I perfectly sympathize with his 
craving for an established historic faith, for a 
worship expressive of our refined religious 
sentiment, and not less with his inability to 
sympathize with any prevailing forms. The 
sermons are written with great power." 

Speaking of " Jacqueline Pascal," "Though 



ROBERTSON'S SERMONS, 127 

disfigured to some extent with the superstition 
and false views of Komanism, yet it records 
the struo^of-les of a noble soul in a dark and 
unpropitious age, and has in it that sublimity 
of self-consecration, that perfect yielding up 
of self to God, of which the Catholic Church 
presents us so many examples. One feels ex- 
alted to a loftier state of being when brought 
into contact with such a spirit." 

After reading K,obertson : — 

" What greater satisfaction can one have 
than in dying thus to leave behind a book 
that will continue to minister to other lands 
and ages. What monument of brass or mar- 
ble can compare with this? I have often 
thought that of all things I should prefer to 
write some little work connected with man's 
highest interests, that should live in his love 
and memory. How, for example, a single 
hymn of Heber has gone singing round the 
world ! " 

" So you like Robertson ? " Mr. Diman 
wrote to a friend some years later. " He has 
always been a favorite of mine. Indeed, among 
recent preachers I do not know of any one I 
would put beside him." 

" Most of the morning I have spent in read- 



128 MEMOIRS. 

ing, in the stately pages of Clarendon, how a 
great and prosperous people were drawn step 
by step into a bloody civil war. The deep in- 
terest I take in passing events, which almost 
in fact withdraws me from my proper studies, 
gives to his sombre narrative an irresistible 
charm. . . . Clarendon is the Vandyke of 
historians. I cannot resist the feeling that 
our own nation may be entering on a history 
as tragic. ... 

" The heavy rain this morning kept me 
closely housed, and before a bright lire I read 
Theodore Parker's sermons, attractive from 
the freshness and vigor of the style, and the 
frank, outspoken tone that pervades them, 
but after all unsatisfactory, as they do not 
meet our higher instincts, and leave untouched 
the great mysteries of life. I turn from them 
to read the New Testament with a new 
relish. . . . 

" I have been writing a sermon this morn- 
ing from Pilate's words to Jesus, ' What is 
truth ? ' and am trying to show that the great 
obstacle to truth is not honest doubt but world- 
liness and indifference. . . . This week have 
devoted my evenings to Pascal's Provincial 
Letters. I do it chiefly as an exercise in 
French, but the wit, eloquence, and satire af- 



RESIGNATION OF PASTORATE. 129 

ford me endless enjoyment. I think I shall 
read next the famous treatise of De Maistre, 
' Du Pape/ the best argument for an infalli- 
ble authority ever made. . . . 

" So we go — who shall teach us the way, 
the truth, and the hfe. I find myself turning 
more and more from controversy to a struggle 
after personal holiness. The pure in heart 
see God." 

Fall River, January 10, 1860. 

The die is cast . . . the Rubicon crossed. 
Sunday morning at the close of service I re- 
quested the church to stop, and after the con- 
gregation had gone out, coming down from 
the pulpit and standing by the communion- 
table, where we had so often celebrated to- 
gether the Sacrament of our Lord's death, I 
resigned back the charge which they had en- 
trusted to me. It was a solemn scene. I 
was perfectly calm when I began to speak, 
but as one face after another was bowed in 
tears, I was warned not to test my self-control 
too far. 

In January came a severe blow in the sudden 
death of Mr. John J. Stimson of Providence. 



130 MEMOIRS. 

TO REV. J. O. MURRAY. 

Fall River, January 27, 1860. 

... I could not feel the loss more deeply 
were it my own father. Indeed, for nearly ten 
years Mr. Stimson has been a father to me. 
It is a great comfort to me to think that my 
relations to E. had all been definitely fixed, 
and had received his cordial approbation and 
blessing. How his death will affect my plans 
for the future does not yet appear. . . . But 
I feel willing to leave all in the hands of God, 
who so strangely leads us by paths we have 
not known. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

1860-1864 AET. 29-33. 

Marriage. — Harvard Congregational Church, Brookline. 

— Examination. — View of the Atonement. — The Human- 
ity of Christ. — The Incarnation. — Divine Life in Human 
Nature. — Statements of Truth. — The Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost. — The Council. — Letters to Dr. Rufus Ellis. 

— Dissension in the Church. — Letter to Henry W. Diman. 

— Comments of Professor George P. Fisher. 

On May 15, 1860, Mr. Diman was mar- 
ried to Miss Emily G. Stimson, daughter of 
Mr. John J. Stimson, of Providence, and the 
home was begun which Mr. Diman counted 
" next to that faith without which all earthly 
blessings are but curses in disguise/' the chief 
cause of thankfulness. 

He had lately accepted a call to the Har- 
vard Congregational Church in Brookline, 
Mass., and it was there that he took his bride. 
We have seen that he congratulated himself 
" that on many of these questions" — Genesis 
and the doctrines of early Christianity — 
" I was not subjected to the strict examination 
which would have awaited me in Boston." 



132 MEMOIRS. 

That strict examination came before his or- 
dination as pastor in Brookline. The man 
who did not hesitate to declare that the " fo- 
lios of the Fathers, with much that is deep 
and true, are nevertheless cart-loads of rub- 
bish/' could not be expected to be bound by 
the conventions of orthodoxy, as held by " the 
hair-splitting theologians of New England." 
In the " deep view," which he says he loved, 
and " the constant struggle after unity," he 
refused to recognize Congregationalism as 
the one church indicated by the Apostles, an- 
swering, to the confusion of his questioners, 
when asked what church then was indicated, 
" Without doubt Episcopacy." But the main 
trouble was with what was at that time con- 
;sidered his unorthodox view of the Atone- 
ment. Five years before this time he wrote 
in the foreign journal the confession to which 
he adhered to the end of his life. He had 
been talking with a friend on the subject. 
" His interest is concentrated on the objective 
nature of the Atonement ; mine on the Per- 
son of Christ." It was the Life of Christ, 
and the Life never more manifest than in the 
Death, that Mr. Diman clung to as the great 
fact of Revelation. His philosophic mind re- 
fused to see in the crucifixion an isolated 



VIEW OF THE ATONEMENT. 133 

event, or even an event of vital moment, un- 
connected with the previous life of obedience. 
When he quoted " the blood of Christ cleans- 
eth from all sin," he meant the life-blood of 
Christ, and the life as assimilated by the be- 
lieving soul. " Through the mysterious al- 
chemy of a daily communion, must He be 
made our life, and we be transformed into 
His image. His spiritual nature must be 
assimilated, even as our physical frames as- 
similate the nutritious principle of food, till 
by degrees He becomes so completely in- 
wrought into the believing soul, that it can 
say, ^It is no longer I that live, but Christ 
that liveth in me.' " ^ 

Mr. Diman's latest utterances, as well as the 
earliest, are in accord with the deep and spir- 
itual view of the nature and of&ce of Christ 
he so loved to contemplate. Writing only 
three years before his death, he says : " In 
our Lord's discourse on the night before he 
was betrayed. He had distinctly taught that 
the great work which he had assumed would 
not be completed by His death. That was 
not the last result towards which all things 
had tended, but was itself the transition step 
to a greater result, the necessary condition of 

^ Orations and Essays : Christ the Bread of Life. 



134 MEMOIRS. 

another and more glorious stage of spiritual 
development, the door of a nearer approach 
to the invisible world." ^ . . . 

And again : " What theologians have called 
the plan of redemption has been dissected 
with all the confidence with which science in- 
vestigates the phenomena of matter. The 
most signal, pathetic, persuasive exhibition of 
yearning love for men, ever compassed within 
the limits of a human life, has been analyzed 
into dry, repulsive syllogisms, and summed up 
in the metaphysical dialect of creeds, and 
made the shibboleths of contending sects. 
For even the story of redemption could be 
easily perverted into an abstract theory of the 
divine administration. But when we study 
the doctrine of the Spirit, we pass from the 
theology of the intellect to the theology of 
the feelings. We are in a region of insight, 
of experience, of inner recognition, where in- 
tellectual conclusions no longer satisfy." ^ 

At this time, and later, it was said of Mr. 
Diman, that he inclined towards Unitarian 
views. Notwithstanding his sympathy with 
Unitarians, which arose from his thorough 
appreciation of their standpoint, he never 

1 Orations and Essays : The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 

2 Ihid. 



THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST. 135 

thought of acting with them, as his letters 
prove. The beHef that he might do so prob- 
ably had its foundation in the fact that he 
loved to dwell upon the humanity of Christ. 
Throughout his life his writings on this sub- 
ject are in perfect accord. As a theological 
student he wrote : " While Christ was the 
ideal man, so it is ever to be the aim of every 
one, in the same manner, to realize the ideal 
man, and thus be also a manifestation of the 
Logos in the flesh. Each believer should be 
the Living Word of God." The Brookline 
pastor wrote : " Theology in part must be held 
responsible for this {i. 6., the separation of 
ethics from Christianity) by exalting the Son 
of Man above the race whose nature He ex- 
pressed, and creating an impassable gulf be- 
tween Redeemer and redeemed. In her zeal 
to enthrone the Lord of Life above all prin- 
cipality and power, and all that may be named 
in heaven and on earth, faith has been at 
times forgetful that it was the Son of Man, 
whom the dying Stephen saw standing at the 
right hand of God, and whom John beheld 
in ApQcalyptic glory. . . . Let us not forget 
that man's normal nature is seen in Christ, 
and not in us. ... It is this sense of a com- 
mon nature, of a nature whose essential qual- 



136 MEMOIRS. 

ities and capabilities no sin, degradation, nor 
long centuries of alienation have rooted out, 
that establishes the sympathy between us 
and the Son of Man. Without this there is 
no redemption. Because He is Son of Man, 
is He Saviour of the world." ^ Six years later 
the University professor wrote : " Are men 
weary of the story of the cross ? Are they 
weary of sunrise and of spring ? It is ever 
old, yet ever new. Only a pitiful failure 
to comprehend these various and profound 
aspects in which the Son of Man stands re- 
lated to the spiritual constitution of the race, 
these aspects which Himself intimated when 
He declared, ^ I am the Way, and the Truth, 
and the Life ; no man cometh unto the Father 
but by me,' — only a pitiful failure to com- 
prehend these could have betrayed any into 
the terrible delusion of thinking that they 
could climb up some other way." ^ 

And writing in the last year of his life Mr. 
Diman says : " The highest, and at the same 
time the simplest, aspect in which Christianity 
is revealed is that of a spiritual force revealing 
itself in human souls. 

" That stupendous fact which we term the 

1 Orations and Essays : The Son of Man. 
« Ibid. : Christ the Way, the Truth, the Life. 



THE INCARNATION. 137 

Incarnation meant no more than this. It was 
the dwelling" in human nature of a divine life 
and power, the lifting of the human race to a 
higher level of spiritual experience and action. 
When Jesus chose for his most habitual desig- 
nation of himself the title of '' Son of Man/' 
He hinted this great analogy between the 
natural and the spiritual. For as Son of Man 
He expressed and illustrated the crowning 
result of a human development, since in Him 
humanity was first conscious of divine affin- 
ities. Even when asserting; his most inti- 
mate relations with the Father He ever de- 
scribed himself as Son of Man. And what 
he claimed for himself He accorded to his fol- 
lowers." ^ 

The deep mysticism and lofty purity of Mr. 
Diman's views, the spiritual heights on which 
he walked, might well cause less elevated souls 
to fall back in confusion. And it was hard 
for him, except in the pulpit, where all per- 
sonality was laid aside, to express his truest 
thoughts and convictions. In any argument 
he was apt to be, if possible, too fair. He 
saw the other side so clearly, he generally 
knew the history and growth of the opposite 

^ Orations and Essays : The Kingdoms of Heaven and of 
Nature. 



138 MEMOIRS. 

opinion so well, that he was often believed to 
incline toward it. He also, in his later years, 
used the satiric method with the effect of en- 
tirely confusing his antagonist. 

'' I do not mean," he writes, " that it is a 
matter of little moment how truth is stated. 
On the contrary, because it is a matter of so 
much moment, must we hesitate before ac- 
cepting any statement as final. Nor are dif- 
ferences of statement on the part of theo- 
logians to be sneered at as mere slight and 
verbal differences ; on the contrary, they often 
express broad divergencies of understanding 
and behef, and precisely because these diver- 
gencies are so broad does it seem likely that 
the best men ' knew in part, and prophesied 
in part.' " 

" Our faith is in the Father, and the Son, 
and the Holy Ghost ; not in either one as 
separate from the rest, but in the three to- 
gether, as forming one truth, one object of 
belief, one method of salvation. The problem 
for each regenerate soul is to recognize in the 
unity of one experience this threefold reve- 
lation. If we beheve in the Father it must be 
as manifest in the Son ; if we believe in the 
Son, it must be as revealed by the Spirit ; if 



FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST. 139 

we believe in the Spirit, it must be as bringing 
us throuo^h the Son unto the Father. The 
divine vestment cannot be rent asunder. If 
we dwell exclusively on either one of these 
correlated truths, if we suffer either one to 
exert undue influence in shaping our belief, 
we sacrifice the proportion of faith. This 
doctrine formulates the threefold adjustment 
to human wants, and according as we symmet- 
rically grasp it are we made partakers of the 
divine nature. It was not designed for theo- 
logians, but for believing men. Of nice dog- 
matic statements we have had enough. What 
we need is a deeper intuition of the interior 
meaning ; an anointing of the spirit that shall 
bring us to such open vision of the Lord of 
life, that we, being transformed into his im- 
age, may have our lives hid with him in God. 
Thus will it be felt that the doctrine, which 
through so many ages has lain imbedded in 
the richest fruition and understanding of the 
love of God in Christ which passeth knowl- 
edge, is no dead abstraction ; thus will the 
deep things which so long have baffled the 
intellect, interpret themselves to the heart, as 
the believer — 

* From Hope, and firmer Faith, to perfect Love 
Attracted, and absorbed ' — 



140 MEMOIRS. 

sees at last no longer through a glass, but 
face to face." ^ 

After a prolonged discussion and a heated 
controversy, the council decided to proceed 
with Mr. Diman's installation as pastor of the 
Harvard Congregational Church. Here he 
remained four years, years which were filled 
with work in which he delighted. Two chil- 
dren were born here, to complete the happiness 
of his home life. 

His preaching attracted marked attention, 
so that he was sought for other fields. Dr. 
Roswell D. Hitchcock again wrote to him 
about the Mercer Street Church, in New York ; 
the First Congregational Society of Hartford 
approached him ; and in 1863 churches in 
Philadelphia and Springfield desired his ser- 
vices. 

" He was before all the Congregational 
ministers who are known as ' orthodox,' " 
wrote Dr. Eufus Ellis, " certainly in this 
neighborhood, in the offer of an exchange of 
pulpits to a Unitarian clergyman. At his in- 
vitation we took each other's place on Sunday, 
May 10, 1863, he officiating in First Church, 
,and I in his house of worship in Brookline." ^ 

1 The Monthly Religious Magazine, September, 1863. 
Sermon : Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

2 First Church in Boston : 250£A Anniversary, p. 191. 



EXCHANGE OF PULPITS. 141 

To this exchange of pulpits the following 
letters refer : — 

TO THE REV. RUFUS ELLIS. 

Brookline, April 24, 1863. 

I reciprocate most heartily your fraternal 
sentiments, and will gladly exchange with you 
on any Sunday that you will indicate. It has 
long seemed to me that the issues, on which 
the Congregational body divided, are dead. 
The deeper religious consciousness of the 
present day is independent of either extreme. 
I have never assented to the so-called New 
England divinity, and have held myself stu- 
diously aloof from all denominational connec- 
tions. If anything can be done, not to heal 
the breach simply, but to build again on a 
more catholic and apostolic foundation, I shall 
heartily rejoice. 

Brookline, May 15, 1863. 

I make haste to thank you for your kind 
note, and to express my gratification at the 
reception given me by your people. When I 
selected the sermon it was with the conviction 
that it presented no " strange doctrine." 

It is with shame and regret that I am 
forced to confess that my own people have 



142 MEMOIRS. 

shown a less liberal feeling than I had hoped 
for. This has not, however, shaken in the 
least my own conviction that I acted as became 
a minister of Christ. In justice to yourself I 
ought to add, that no exception whatever was 
taken to your sermon, but only to your eccle- 
siastical position. Perhaps, however, these 
things are no more than we ought to expect. 
The leaven must be allowed a little time to 
work. 

Mr. Diman on several occasions delivered 
the so-called " Thursday lecture " in Mr. Ellis's 
church. This was an old custom, which Mr. 
Ellis had revived shortly before Mr. Diman 
came to Brookline. 

A pleasant feature of the Brookline life 
was a club of six young ministers of different 
denominations, from the various churches in 
the neighborhood. They met at each other's 
houses, and read the Agamemnon of ^schylus 
in the forenoon, and after dinner took up mat- 
ters of mutual interest. " We were all nearly 
the same age," writes Mr. Young, " and 
though we occupied different theological po- 
sitions, yet we had much in common." 

The word heretical, having once been men- 
tioned, is apt to cling to a minister, and Mr. 



OFFER FROM BROWN UNIVERSITY, 143 

Diman was no exception. Before long some 
of the congregation began to think his ser- 
mons unorthodox. A strong and influential 
party in the church delighted in them, and 
heard with hearing ears. All united, how- 
ever, in praising his blameless life, his admira- 
ble performance of all parish duties, and his 
personal charm of manner. Such was the 
condition of affairs in 1864. The very sermons 
which he preached in later years to delighted 
congregations in Boston and Providence, and 
which no one called unorthodox, were found 
fault with. His upholders and followers were 
devoted, and the church was on the brink of 
disruption. At this juncture came the offer 
of a professorship in Brown University^ made 
at the suggestion of Professor William Gam- 
mel, who was about to retire from the chair 
of History and Political Economy. 

TO HENRY W. DIMAN. 

Brookline, February 24, 1864. 

Dr. Sears came down in person to see me, 
and urged the matter in most pressing and 
flattering terms. Soon as my church got wind 
of the matter they began to stir, and pre- 
sented a request in writing, signed by almost 
everybody in the congregation, that I should 



144 MEMOIRS. 

remain. Many beside remonstrated in person, 
so I was driven to think seriously whether it 
would be right for me to leave. If I decide 
to go it will be mainly on account of my dis- 
agreeable relations with the denomination. 
I am heartily disgusted with the incessant 
twaddle about soundness and unsoundness. 

On many accounts I should be sorry to 
leave Brookline. All my social relations are 
exceedingly pleasant, and the advantages of 
various sorts are unsurpassed. My four years 
here have been very pleasant. 

Professor George P. Fisher adds the fol- 
lowing paragraphs, on 

THE THEOLOGICAL POSITION OF PROFESSOR 

DIMAN. 

A stranger conversing with Professor Di- 
man might have received the impression that 
he was highly conservative in his religious 
tastes and opinions ; or, on the other hand, he 
might have carried away the impression that, 
besides being a fearless advocate of progress, 
he was not in the least indisposed to bold 
innovations in theology. Such a " chance 
acquaintance " might have heard from him 
expressions favorable to characteristic features 



COMMENTS OF PROFESSOR FISHER. 145 

of the Protestant Episcopal, or even of the 
Roman Catholic Church, — expressions that 
would have struck him with some surprise, as 
falling from the lips of a Congregational 
minister. On the contrary, remarks apprecia- 
tive of certain traits of the Unitarians might 
have been equally unexpected from an " ortho- 
dox " scholar and preacher. Yet there was 
not a particle of insincerity, and no real incon- 
sistency in all these comments. In the free- 
dom of conversation, to break up somebody's 
" dogmatic slumber," and perhaps in a partly 
humorous spirit, novel opinions might be 
thrown out, and that in a paradoxical form, 
which were likely to provoke astonishment, if 
not dissent, especially if the listener were de- 
ficient in breadth and discernment. But 
underlying all these diverse expressions, there 
was a consistent mode of thought ; and there 
was a like consistency in the course of conduct 
which Professor Diman pursued in ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs and relations. To be sure, we must 
take into account the ingrained personal inde- 
pendence, and the outspoken habit, which 
characterized him. He did not hesitate, 
although always with courtesy, to say just 
what he thought, unawed by the disagree- 
ment of others, and not tempted to cloak his 



146 MEMOIRS. 

opinions from a desire to please. In order 
to do justice to Professor Diman, one had 
need to bear in mind the fact that while he 
was free and fresh in his intellectual activity, 
not afraid to think for himself, having a 
certain delight in the higher fields of specula- 
tion, he was imbued, if I may use the expres- 
sion, with a profound historical sense. The 
present he saw in the Hght of all the past. 
Whatever could fairly be said to have a 
historic justification, engaged, at least to a 
qualified extent, his sympathy. The more 
ancient ecclesiastical bodies, with their stable 
forms of polity and their impressive liturgies, 
he looked upon with an appreciative regard. 
For the old Puritanism of New England, and 
the simple dignity of its ecclesiastical system, 
he cherished a like reverent feeling. It was 
something to be highly honored and re- 
spected, — something which had a legitimate 
origin and had performed a worthy and noble 
work. From his Rhode Island birth and early 
education, from his training in college under 
Dr. Wayland, from his wide opportunities for 
culture both in New England and in Germany, 
and from the instinctive tendencies of his own 
nature, Diman was lifted above everything 
narrow, one-sided, exclusive. Merely provi- 



COMMENTS OF PROFESSOR FISHER. 147 

dential tests of doctrine, demands made on the 
intellect by local opinion, creeds manufactured 
yesterday, did not attract from him any defer- 
ence. He respected the leaders of New Eng- 
land theology, from Edwards to Taylor and 
Park, but he could not be counted among the 
followers of any of them. The masterly way 
in which he could deal critically, and in a 
broad, impartial spirit, with the history and 
special peculiarities of the different religious 
bodies, is finely exemplified in his article on 
" Religion in America." Nothing has been 
written on the subject, certainly not in so 
brief a compass, which is equally discrimi- 
nating and learned. 

Now add to the peculiar natural qualities, 
and to the rich, varied culture of Professor 
Diman, the circumstance that he attained to 
manhood late enough to be able to contem- 
plate great religious controversies in a dispas- 
sionate way, — somewhat as an on-looker from 
abroad might have regarded them. His posi- 
tion set him free from partisan bias, such as 
even one like him, at an earlier date, might 
not have been able to escape. The controversy 
of Churchman and Puritan, the controversy 
of Orthodox and Unitarian Congregationalist, 
were not, indeed, wholly things of the past ; 



148 MEMOIRS. 

yet Diman was so placed that he could scan 
the contending parties from a higher plane of 
observation. To neither of them could he 
surrender himself with an undivided sympathy. 
As regards Congregationalism, he deplored 
the great division which placed the children 
of the Puritans in two antagonistic camps. 
He would probably have gone with the most 
pacific in the endurance of differences of 
belief, had it been possible in that way to 
avoid the separation. The Unitarian churches 
and ministers, in particular such as held fast 
to the supernatural origin of the Gospel, he 
regarded not only with no antipathy, but was 
disposed to go decidedly farther than his 
brethren generally in friendly approaches to- 
ward them, and in the exchange of ministe- 
rial courtesies. He looked upon the ministers 
and churches of this description as members 
of a broken household to which he was fond 
of looking back as it existed in its earlier day 
of conscious strength and unity. When ques- 
tioned by an installing council respecting his 
doctrinal tenets, in the midst of an atmosphere 
engendered by a long theological conflict, he 
would show no anxiety to satisfy scruples or 
to allay suspicions. He would take no pains 
to express himself in conventional phraseology. 



COMMENTS OF PROFESSOR FISHER. 149 

To those who could not recognize evangelical 
truth except in the traditional dress, to all who 
listened to catch the sound of their shibboleth, 
there was a savor of heresy in the young 
preacher's definitions of doctrine. A more 
conciliatory bearing on his part would certainly 
have been politic. Possibly, it might have 
been judicious and advisable. Individuals not 
wanting in catholic and kindly feeling might 
have thus been delivered from needless suspi- 
cion and alarm. The result, strange to say, 
was that he was looked on as a latitudinarian 
by not a few, at the same time that some of 
the most conservative of the " Old School " 
ministers found in him much that was con- 
genial with their ways of thinking, and some- 
times defended him as " sound in the faith " 
against aspersions from the " New School " 
side. I believe that certain views which he 
happened to avow respecting the observance 
of the Lord's day — views more akin to those of 
Luther and the Reformers than to the stricter 
Puritan idea — drew upon him at one time 
considerable censure. The particular point in 
discussion related to the running of horse-cars 
on Sunday. The virulence with which he was 
denounced by one or more of the Congrega- 
tionalist ministers near him, was among the 



150 MEMOIRS. 

causes that led him to attend, for a while at 
least, an Episcopal church, situated in the 
neighborhood of his dwelling. 

To speak a little more in particular of Di- 
man's theological opinions, I think that he 
would have given his full assent to the Nicene 
Creed, the great symbol in which the divinity 
of Christ is asserted and defined. I have no 
reason to think that he had any doubts re- 
specting the doctrine of the Incarnation, as 
generally held in the Church. On the subject 
of the Atonement, while he did not consider 
particular theories — the governmental theory, 
for example — an adequate explication of the 
subject, he believed that the work of the Re- 
deemer goes beyond any mere teaching or 
legislative function, and includes a relation to 
God and to a righteous moral order. He at- 
tached most weight to the moral and spiritual 
elements of the Atonement, and was specially 
desirous to explore and ascertain their precise 
significance. His view of the Inspiration of 
the Scriptures was not in accord with the tra- 
ditional formularies. While he had a sincere 
and deep reverence for the Bible as the au- 
thority in matters of faith, he did not consider 
its records to be free from historical discrep- 
ancies, and from other blemishes belonging 



COMMENTS OF PROFESSOR FISHER. 151 

to compositions in which human agency has a 
part of its own to fulfill. On one subject he 
came at last, I think, to differ from the con- 
victions commonly entertained in the Christian 
body to which he belonged. In a sermon 
preached at King's Chapel, February 10th, 
1878, in a course of sermons by different di- 
vines on Future Punishment, he took his text 
in the first Epistle of John : " He that hath 
the Son hath life ; and he that hath not the 
Son of God hath not life." He concludes that 
"there is no warrant whatever for erecting 
the bold, naked, literal dogma of everlasting 
punishment into an article of Christian faith ; 
that a grievous wrong is done when any who 
shrink from accepting it are excluded from 
the communion of Christian people ; and that 
a religious body which insists on this as an 
essential test will bar from its ministry many 
of the most thoughtful and most earnest of 
the present generation. The early records 
are silent on this point ; the Church of Eng- 
land omits it from her articles ; those who 
venture to af&rm it, affirm what Jesus himself 
made no part of his direct, explicit teaching. 
Where he was silent, we well may pause." 

I am aware that the foregoing remarks will 
give those who did not know Diman, a very 



152 MEMOIRS. 

inadequate conception of his peculiarities as a 
theologian. To gain a true idea of that rare 
mingling of spiritual perception with logical 
clearness and accuracy, which belonged to 
him, and of the felicity of the language in 
which he spoke and wrote on the topics of 
the Gospel, the reader must resort to the ser- 
mons printed in the volume of his " Orations 
and Essays." 



CHAPTEK VIII. 

1864-1868. AET. 33-37. 

Providence Home. — College Work. — Public Lectures on 
Political Economy. — Letter to Rev. J. O. Murray. — 
Preaching. — Fourth-of-July Oration. — Letters to Presi- 
dent Angell. — Vacation Trip to Chicago. — John Cotton's 
Reply to Roger Williams. — Letters to President Angell. 
— Discourse in Commemoration of Professor Dunn. — 
Sunday Cars. — Sermons in Storms. — The Close of the 
Year. 

The offer of a chair in Brown University 
was accepted after some deliberation, and in 
September, 1864, Mr. Diman began his col- 
lege work. 

From Providence, October 1st, Mr. Diman 
writes to a friend : " The pressure of many- 
new duties has caused me to neglect my cor- 
respondence. We wanted to send for you to 
pass Commencement with us, but have been 
delayed much longer than we expected in get- 
ting into our house. Next week we expect to 
move into it, and as soon as we are fairly set- 
tled we shall claim your promised visit." 

The house referred to is the one on Angell 
Street, in which all of Mr. Diman's life in 



154 MEMOIRS. 

Providence was passed, and which had for 
many years been a centre of activity and use- 
fulness. " Rose Farm " was the old name of 
the pleasant orchard - clad acres that sur- 
rounded it. Its hospitable doors were always 
open, and with the coming of Mr. and Mrs. 
Diman the place renewed its youth. How 
many distinguished guests were welcomed here 
from a distance ! while the best and clever- 
est the city afforded were constant visitors. 
A chance guest, detained over night, writes 
Ions' after : 

" I obtained a glimpse of your home life, 
that has followed me as a heavenly vision to 
this hour." 

The first winter in Providence, 1864-65, 
was apparently entirely devoted to college 
work. It was entirely new work, and the let- 
ters remaining are few. To his brother he 
writes that he is well pleased with it, and 
should he decide to take a parish again, the 
time would not be lost. 

But the next winter he engaged in some of 
the outside work, which was, perhaps, even 
more effective and useful than the college in- 
struction. A course of evening lectures on 
Political Economy was given at Bryant and 
Stratton's Business College. The opening 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 155 

lecture was largely attended, and the whole 
course received with attention. 

TO REV. J. O. MURRAY. 

Providence, November 10, 1865. 
. . . Truly there is no trial that so sorely 
afflicts us as the sickness and death of our 
little ones. We have had a long season of 
anxiety this fall with our little boy, and at one 
time were fain compelled to rehnquish almost 
all hope, but he has been mercifully preserved, 
and is now nearly recovered. 

What are the difficulties of faith that men 
make such ado about, compared with these 
real and most appalling facts that touch our 
every-day life ? 

Every thing goes on pleasantly with me, so 
far as duties are concerned. As I am less 
driven I feel r.uch more satisfied with my 
work. This term I have been giving most of 
my attention to early French history, a subject 
most obscurely treated by English masters. 

I endeavor to economize in book-buying, 
but yesterday I gladly gave twenty dollars for 
an English copy of Edward Irving's works. 
One of the sermons that I read last evening 
almost repaid me. I wish you might read the 
one " On the Death of Children," written 
after the loss of his little boy. . . . 



156 MEMOIRS. 

With his new work Mr. Diman did not re- 
linquish preaching. He was ever ready to 
respond to the calls made upon him, and at 
various times suppHed pulpits for many consec- 
utive weeks. The Beneficent Congregational 
Church had been without a pastor, and during 
the winter of 1865-6 Mr. Diman supplied its 
pulpit, filling it with great acceptance to the 
people. 

On the fourth of July, 1866, Mr. Diman 
delivered an oration before the city authorities 
and citizens of Providence, on " The Nation 
and the Constitution," in which he eloquently 
sets forth the doctrine, that " the nation holds 
not from the law, but the law holds from the 
nation." 

" No nation ever existed that depends so 
little as does ours upon its mere form of gov- 
ernment. To my mind, the ^ ^owning moment 
of our great conflict was not when the first 
gun fired on Sumter was followed by the 
magnificent uprising of a great people ; when 
the whole North burned with an enthusiasm 
that has had nothing like it since the days 
of the crusades ; but rather, that dark, that 
dreadful hour, when, with the nation reeling 
beneath the blow that smote its beloved Chief, 
the great duties of the state passed without a 



LETTERS. 157 

break or a jar to the hands of his successor. 
That was the real triumph of our institu- 
tions." ^ 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, November 27, 1866. 

. . . For the past week I have been very- 
busy writing new lectures for my class, and 
preparing for the press an edition of " John 
Cotton's Reply to Roger Williams," which will 
be printed by the Narragansett Club. I have 
been much interested to study in the original 
authorities the question of his banishment, 
and my opinions have been somewhat modified. 

This week is the usual recess. The term 
has gone very pleasantly thus far. I have 
used the book on " Feudalism " which I showed 
to you, and derived many new ideas from it. 

My wife and children are in Boston. I 
go down to-morrow to pass Thanksgiving. I 
propose to do the eating, and let others do 
the preaching. 

Providence, January 27, 1867. 

We got through (the term) last week. My 
examination was, on the whole, the best I have 
yet had. It was both oral and written for 
the whole class, and was regarded as pretty 

^ The Nation and the Constitution, p. 22. Providence Press 
Company, 1866. 



158 MEMOIRS. 

severe. I was gratified with the result be- 
cause I have taught Guizot for the last term 
by a new method, giving up the daily recita- 
tions, and having a written analysis of a whole 
chapter presented at once. It saves much 
weariness, and by grasping a subject as a 
whole, the class get a better idea of it. Be- 
sides, it already does away with the old parrot 
style of exact recitation. 

With regard to the first two chapters of 
Guizot I have always taught them. They 
are far behind the present discussion of the 
subject, but are useful to hang remarks upon. 

With regard to Political Economy, I doubt 
if you will find the preparation of a daily 
lecture (of course I mean the heads) any 
more laborious than getting a long lesson out 
of a text-book. . . . 

In the summer of 1867 a vacation excursion 
was taken, and thus described : — 

Chicago, July 24. 
Which of all the lost treasures of ancient 
literature one would care most to have recov- 
ered, has been a favorite question for the 
leisure moments of literary men. Respecting 
an answer, there has been as little agreement 



LETTER FROM CHICAGO. 159 

as with the scarcely less important questions, 
What song the Syrens sang", and What dress 
Achilles assumed when he hid himself among 
the women. The historian of the " Decline 
and Fall of the Roman Empire " did not hesi- 
tate to declare that for himself he would pre- 
fer the " Lost Decades " of Livy to the accu- 
mulated stores of the Alexandrian library. 
The judgment of your correspondent may 
have received an unconscious bias from the 
circumstance that his early days were passed 
in a seaport town, where the whale-fishery still 
flourished in a glory undimmed by kerosene ; 
but it has always seemed to him that beyond 
comparison the most curious production of an- 
tiquity that could be recovered from the de- 
stroyer, Time, would be the diary, or, in more 
exact nautical phrase, the log-book, kept by 
the prophet Jonah, during the three days and 
nights of his experimental cruise along the 
eastern shores of the Mediterranean. In the 
absence of the original record, the emotions of 
the distinguished navigator can only be mat- 
ter of conjecture ; it seems, however, not un- 
reasonable to infer, in view of all the circum- 
stances, that the remorse caused by a willful 
attempt to evade duty was not the sole source 
of discomfort. Be this, however, as it may, 



160 MEMOIRS. 

and without pausing to quote on both sides of 
the question the learned and voluminous opin- 
ions of the leading German and Dutch com- 
mentators, I risk nothing in asserting that had 
the whale been fitted, in respect to his interior 
accommodations, according to the patent of 
a namesake of the prophet, Mr. Jonah Wood- 
ruff, the trip to Tarshish might have been 
accomplished without, at least, any physical 
inconvenience. The fact deserves to be noted 
by all those who hold to a kind of divine 
significance in proper names. 

• «••••• 

Time flies apace, and my fuller impressions 
of Chicago must be reserved for another let- 
ter. The city whose daily price-current de- 
termines the price of grain throughout the 
world, can hardly be dispatched at the end of 
a sheet. I will only add, that, although the 
skill of the Garden City has succeeded in tap- 
ping the bottom of Lake Michigan to obtain 
an abundance of pure water, some misgiving 
as to the extent of the supply seems, as yet, to 
have prevented any extensive adoption of it 
as a beverage. It may be that the apprehen- 
sion has arisen, that should the water of the 

< 

lake be used too freely, not enough would be 
left to keep up the " solemn bass " of Ni- 
agara. 



COTTON'S ANSWER TO WILLIAMS. 161 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, August 14, 1867. 

I was delighted with your address. It 
gave me a feeling of deep regret, as I recog- 
nized your high ideal of academic training, 
that we were not working in the same institu- 
tion. The state of things here is discourag- 
ing. Much is said of the importance of hav- 
ing a " consistent Baptist " at the head of the 
institution, but not a word about elevating the 
standard of scholarship, or extending the 
means of instruction. We have a set of men 
in the corporation who are not enough inter- 
ested in the inner working of the college even 
to attend the examinations. 

You have made a good move in changing 
the mode of electing your trustees. We 
ought to do the same thing. Gammell and I 
are doing what we can to bring it about by 
seminal articles in the paper. 

By the first opportunity I shall send you 
a copy of " Cotton." The view which I ad- 
vance, so far as I have been able to find, is 
new. It naturally has not met with much 
favor here, but has been very warmly com- 
mended by some of the Boston men. . . . 

This reprint of '' Master John Cotton's An- 



162 MEMOIRS. 

swer to Master Roger Williams " is the second 
volume of the publications of the Narragan- 
sett Club. The editor's preface is dated 
March, 1867. It makes a volume of over 
two hundred pages, with an appendix, and a 
hundred and eight notes on the text, the re- 
sults of Mr. Diman's researches, and study in 
the original authorities, to which he refers in 
a previous letter. 

" After this most able analysis by a Rhode 
Island "scholar and professor in her University, 
of the statements of both Cotton and Williams, 
there should no longer be any want of agree- 
ment among the historians of Massachusetts 
and Rhode Island, as to the opinions w^hich 
Williams held, and the relation which he sus- 
tained to the churches and to the civil author- 
ities of Massachusetts during his residence 
there, or as to the true reasons for his banish- 
ment from that colony." ^ 

Dr. George E. Ellis, of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, writes of this volume : 
" Professor Diman's view and presentment of 
the character and course of Roger Williams 
seemed to me to be the most thoroughly ade- 
quate, impartial, and judicial treatment of his 
subject that has ever been given." 

1 North American Review^ April, 1868. 



COMMEMORATION OF PROF. DUNN. 163 

A learned discussion in relation to Roger 
Williams, between " Clericus," Mr. Samuel L. 
Caldwell, and " Historicus/' Mr. Diman, was 
printed shortly after this, in the columns of 
the " Journal." The discussion covered a 
period of some months, and for several years 
Mr. Diman occasionally wrote on the subject. 
"" What Williams taught," he asserted, " was 
not the duty of the civil ruler to tolerate re- 
ligious opinions, but the far more fruitful 
doctrine, that religion did not need to ask for 
toleration, and was in its nature separate from 
all civil power." 

Many will remember the memorial address 
on the Hfe of Professor Eobinson Potter Dunn, 
and have special interest in the following let- 
ters. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, September 24, 1867. 

In accordance with a very generally ex- 
pressed desire it has been decided that a dis- 
course in commemoration of Dunn should be 
given before the college, and as it is designed 
to be an academic matter, the choice has fallen 
upon me. I feel a good deal of hesitation 
about it, although no one appreciated Dunn 
more highly, or is more sensible of the loss the 
college has sustained ; but my relations with 



164 MEMOIRS. 

him were never quite as intimate as yours, or 
perhaps Caldwell's. Had you been here, the 
choice would not have fallen upon me. Hav- 
ing accepted the task, however, I am very 
anxious that it should be adequately performed, 
and it would be a very great favor if you 
would make any suggestions that may occur 
to you. I want especially to present him in 
his relations to the college. You were inti- 
mately acquainted with him several years, and 
of course must have received a marked im- 
pression of some sort. If you have time to 
give me a hint or two it will greatly oblige. 

We have had serious trouble in College. 
Chace has taken the Senior Class, giving up 
the Juniors to an inexperienced tutor. The 
death of Dunn required that a similar arrange- 
ment should be made with Rhetoric. The 
latter was a necessity, but in the former case 
the class felt, and I think justly, that their 
rights had been disregarded. To be deprived 
of two professors at the same time was too 
much. Several have left, and serious dissat- 
isfaction still exists, although there will prob- 
ably be no open resistance. When will the 
Corporation learn that the success of a col- 
lege depends upon accomplished teachers ? 
Unless they wake up. Brown will sink to the 



SUNDAY HORSE-CARS. 165 

rank of an academy. In this respect, how 
irreparable the loss of Dunn ! 

And now let me tell you a good story. 
Who should make his appearance in the 
"Journal" of&ce yesterday, in a towering 

rage, but the Kev. Dr. . He demanded 

his bill, and said that the " Providence Jour- 
nal " should never enter his doors again. 
And pray what do you think was the cause 
of all this ? A brief article, giving an out- 
hne of a recent opinion of Judge Read of 
Philadelphia, on Sunday cars, and indorsing 
the opinion. Now the joke of the whole 
matter is that the article in question was writ- 
ten by your humble servant. 

This article on Sunday Cars is the one to 
which Professor Fisher refers, and which at 
the time excited much comment. It con- 
cludes : — 

"We have given at some length an ab- 
stract of the opinion of Judge Read, because 
in its wide and complete discussion of the 
subject it touches upon points which will in- 
terest every thoughtful reader. Already, as 
it seems, the opinion has provoked violent as- 
saults, but we do not doubt that in the end 
these views will commend themselves to the 



166 MEMOIRS. 

good sense of the community, sustained, as 
they are, by the judgment of the most emi- 
nent Biblical students, not less than by the in- 
stincts of humanity. As Judge Read truly 
calls it, the passenger car is the poor man's 
carriage." 

The busy Berlin student, we have seen, 
took time to hunt up and relieve some poor 
neighbors, and to the end of his life, however 
busy he might be, Mr. Diman was a regular 
visitor of the sick in the hospitals, an errand 
of mercy in which, in later years, his daughter 
accompanied him. Her sweet voice was often 
heard among the children, following the les- 
sons she had been taught both by precept 
and example. 

The following brief article, entitled " Ser- 
mons in Storms," appeared in the " Journal " 
in December, 1867, and well did Mr. Diman 
practice what he so persuasively preached. 

'^ The injunction to remember the poor, a 
willing compliance with which is always a lead- 
ing characteristic of pure and undefiled reli- 
gion, has come to us during the past few days, 
charged with peculiar emphasis. Who of us 
has not heard it in those wild northern blasts 



''SERMONS IN STORMS." 167 

that so mercilessly have swept our streets ; who 
of us, when seated by our cheerful firesides, 
has not thouo^ht of the homeless and the des- 
titute ? The season has set in with unusual 
severity, and finds a larger number than usual 
unprepared to meet it. The continued de- 
pression of business is already telling upon the 
laboring classes. But in the most favorable 
seasons there must always be many, in a com- 
munity as large as this, who need a helping 
hand to enable them to struggle through the 
long winter. There are always some whom 
sickness has kept from their usual employ- 
ment, and some whom death has deprived of 
the one to whom they looked for support. 
These are the persons most deserving of help, 
for their poverty is not the result of idleness 
or vice, but of circumstances over which they 
have no control. 

"We have in our city ample provision for 
public charity. The care of the poor is en- 
trusted to capable officers, and we have no 
doubt that the trust is faithfully and wisely 
executed. We have, also, several excellent 
private organizations, all of which are doing a 
good work. But none of them should be al- 
lowed to take the place of personal efPort in 
this direction. That charity is thrice blessed 



168 MEMOIRS. 

which we administer ourselves. A kindly 
word will sometimes do more to cheer a de- 
sponding heart than a gift of clothing or food; 
and the bread given to the starving is sweeter 
if a genuine sympathy goes with it. We en- 
treat our readers, whenever a case of destitu- 
tion and suffering shall come under their no- 
tice, to give it at once their personal attention, 
and not relinquish to any organization the 
most blessed of all privileges, the privilege of 
making those around us happy. We may rest 
assured that we shall never hereafter look 
back with repining upon the time that has 
been spent in thus personally administering 
to the wants of the poor." 

Mr. Diman himself bids farewell to the 
year : — 

" The days which are declared, in the most 
ancient and impressive of books, to be swifter 
than a weaver's shuttle, have again finished 
their appointed round, and we greet our read- 
ers for the last time in eighteen hundred and 
sixty-seven. It is only repeating a common- 
place remark, yet one that to-day suggests it- 
self to every mind, when we add that each 
year seems shorter than the year before. 
True, the external measurements of time re- 



THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR. 169 

main unaltered. The planets pursue the same 
even course which they pursued when the 
wondering eye of the patriarch noted the 
stately stoppings of Arcturus and the Pleiades. 
But the inner and spiritual milestones of life's 
journey crowd closer and closer together as 
we draw nigh to the end, so that many, we 
doubt not, among our older readers, will re- 
peat with emphasis, to-day, the solemn burden 
of the Psalmist, "We spend our years as a tale 
that is told ;" and however trite and familiar 
the reflections which the dying year awakens, 
it can hardly fail to be of some benefit to 
every one of us to give a few sober thoughts 
to the unreturning Past. What have we 
done for it, and what has it done for us ? 

" It has been ordered, by the unerring wis- 
dom that shapes all events, that we should 
weave the mystic tapestry of Life, like the 
Gobelin workmen, from behind, seeing the 
rough shreds and confused colors, but not the 
complete and perfect work. It is a thought 
full of comfort and hope, amid the jars and 
wrecks of earthly things, that these pictures 
of time, that to human gaze seem so unlovely 
and confused, seen from the divine side, blend 
into perfect harmony. Whether for good or 
for evil, the largest results lie hid from our 



170 . MEMOIRS. 

inspection. What any of us has consciously 
attempted or achieved, is but a small part of 
his actual work. And what is true of the in- 
dividual life, is not less true of the larger life 
of society. So that, curiously as we may re- 
flect upon the events of the past year, and dili- 
gently as we may ponder what seem to us the 
chief aspects in its ever shifting scenes, yet it 
must be with the humbling acknowledgment 
that the long results of time are hid from 
human view, and that no mortal is worthy to 
take the Book which discloses the future, and 
to unloose the seals thereof." 



CHAPTER IX. 

1868. AET. 37. 

Connection with, the Providence Daily Journal. — Editorials. 
— English Politics. — German Politics. — Franco-Prussian 
War. — Reviews. — Religious and Educational Topics. — 
Fourth-of-Julj, Thanksgiving, and New Year's Articles. — 
Christmas. 

At the time of Mr. Diman's coming to Provi- 
dence his friend Mr. James Burrill Angell was 
editor of the Providence Journal. For this 
paper Mr. Diman began to write foreign 
articles, reviews of books, or comments on the 
events of the day. It must be remembered, to 
make any fair estimate of his life and charac- 
ter, that he was a preacher and critic, first 
and foremost. The two, he would have said, 
were not only compatible, but could hardly 
exist without each other. A preacher pro- 
claims truth ; a critic, in the best sense, leads 
men to see it in what exists. The reticence 
in expressing his deepest convictions, and 
the reserve that underlay his open and frank 
manner, have been already noticed. Behind 



172 MEMOIRS. 

the veil of the editorial, he was able to express 
himself as freely as in the pulpit, and from 
this time an important part of his life's work 
appeared in the columns of a daily paper. 
Those who read with delight the Hberal dis- 
cussions of European affairs, the stimulating 
and pertinent articles on Rhode Island topics, 
or listened to the solemn voice that set forth 
the mercies of God at Thanksgiving time, or 
bade farewell to the dying year, may well 
agree that his life made a part of their own. 

Mr. Angell left the " Journal," and Provi- 
dence, in 1866, but Mr. Diman continued to 
write for the paper throughout his life. 

The bulk of his work was done in the years 
immediately following Mr. Angell's departure, 
and covered a wide range of subjects. His 
views as to the function of a newspaper he 
thus sets forth : — " The successful conduct of 
a daily paper aiming to take high rank as a 
guide of public opinion is attended with 
peculiar difficulties, difficulties which our 
readers cannot fully appreciate. If we con- 
ceived that our only function was to wait 
on public sentiment, and echo the prevailing 
opinion around us, the labor would be greatly 
simplified. But believing that our readers 
look to us for an honest and straightforward 



THE FUNCTION OF A NEWSPAPER. 173 

expression of our own sentiments, we cannot 
avoid the peril at times of offending some for 
whom we cherish the utmost respect, and of 
being misunderstood by others upon whose 
good opinion we place the highest value. The 
articles that appear in a daily paper cannot 
be prepared with the care that is devoted to 
the articles in a quarterly review. The good 
old days have long since departed when editors 
went home to tea, leaving the paper ready for 
the press. We have often to write with a 
swift pen, and no one can be more conscious 
than we ourselves are, that much that is writ- 
ten might be improved, and that sometimes a 
word is said which were better left unsaid. 
But we have in all cases submitted to fair and 
manly criticisms, and have freely opened our 
columns, in every instance, to those whose 
opinions differed widely from our own, when- 
ever such opinions were expressed in courteous 
and temperate language." 

In English politics Mr. Diman always had 
special interest. Mr. Gladstone has been the 
central figure there for years, and what Mr. 
Diman wrote of him in 1868 is still true. 

" Hailed at the beginning of his career as 
the rising hope of the High Church party, and 
as such severely handled by Macaulay, in one 



174 MEMOIRS. 

of those brilliant articles which promised for 
a time to restore the Edinburgh Review to its 
old position at the head of the English quar- 
terlies ; afterwards a most devoted follower 
of Sir Robert Peel, in his secession from the 
Conservative party on the memorable question 
of the Corn Laws ; then entering the Cabi- 
net as member of a liberal administration, 
although until quite recently the favorite rep- 
resentative of the University of Oxford ; always 
a distinguished proficient in that fine classical 
scholarship which Oxford so loves and culti- 
vates ; Mr. Gladstone has proved himself alto- 
gether too brilliant and versatile a man to keep, 
for a long time, on good terms with any party. 
Always fond of nice discrimination ; not un- 
frequently balancing the opposite bearings 
of a question with such appreciative justice as 
to leave his own final conclusion enveloped in 
no little doubt ; at times leaping forward to 
theoretical results with such rapidity as to 
leave his followers in dismay, and again show- 
ing evident irresolution in dealing with direct 
practical issues ; Mr. Gladstone is not the kind 
of leader to carry with him always, such a 
peculiarly constituted body as the House of 
Commons. 

" The opponents of Mr. Gladstone have not 



ENGLISH POLITICS. 175 

been slow to reproach him with inconsistency, 
but we cannot so interpret his political career. 
It seems to us that all his changes are capable 
of being easily explained as the logical transi- 
tions of an active, inquiring, progressive mind. 
He is not ashamed to confess that thirty years 
have modified his opinions. He has been 
called mediaeval by one party, and revolu- 
tionary by another. This means simply that 
he is many-sided, and, like all men of large 
and varied culture, he is liable to be misun- 
derstood by mere party-men. ' No man,' was 
once said in the hearing of Goethe, ' is a 
hero to his valet.' ' Not,' replied the poet, 
' because the hero is not a hero, but because 
the valet is a valet.' "... 

There were editorials on " The Premier's 
Perplexity," " The Irish Church Question," 
" The House of Lords," tracing the decline of 
its influence, and on " The Queen," giving an 
outline of her inherited tendencies and preju- 
dices. Mr. Diman's power of presenting per- 
sons, as the embodiment of institutions, was 
never better shown than in such articles as 
these. Of the leaders in England, Disraeli 
and Gladstone, he wrote with the keenest in- 
sight. His faith in Mr. Gladstone's capacity 
of leadership wavered a little. Years have 



176 MEMOIRS. 

only proved the truth of what he wrote in 
1868. " There is apt to be something medise- 
valj academicj pedantic, in his way of putting 
things, indicating after all a lack of large 
practical grasp. ... It may be questioned 
whether if the time spent by Mr. Gladstone in 
investigating the Homeric page, had been de- 
voted to matters directly before his eyes, he 
would not have made a far more successful 
minister. 

" The present aspect of affairs in England 
is full of interest to the thoughtful observer. 
Few people in this country, we imagine, are 
aware of the extent of the revolution which 
is there taking place. Vast as was the change 
effected in 1832, it was, as the ' Times ' 
truly remarks, insignificant by the side of the 
change effected in 1867. A complete trans- 
ference of power has been silently effected, 
the results of which the wisest cannot ven- 
ture to predict. With a sovereign whose 
power is reduced to a constitutional fiction, 
and whose sceptre has been rendered more 
shadowy by years of seclusion ; with a Church 
powerless to define and vindicate its own 
faith, and confessedly unable to allure to 
its service the leading young men in either 
University; and with a House of Lords that 



ENGLISH POLITICS, Vj^J 

has virtually abdicated its functions as a legis- 
lative body, England seems to be on the 
threshold of some momentous transformation. 
Obsolete institutions are maintained in exist- 
ence for a time by the respect which men in- 
stinctively feel for what has long continued, 
but the most firmly rooted sentiment is in 
danger of being vanquished when it is found 
that repairs have come to be more troublesome 
and costly than building from new founda- 
tions." . . . 

Mr. Diman's gift at describing a man in a 
few words which bring him vividly before the 
mind, is well exemplified in the following : — 

"The personal traits of Lord Brougham 
were most happily represented by his nose, a 
feature which ^ Punch ' always delighted to 
draw, and which has been most aptly de- 
scribed as ' protuberant, aggressive, inquiring, 
and defiant ; unlovely, but intellectual.' His 
caustic temper and close invective, an excep- 
tion to parliamentary usage, involved him in 
frequent personal collisions, and when on one 
occasion he so far forgot himself as to insult, 
from the woolsack, a far more eminent lawyer 
than himself, it drew forth the just retort that, 
if Brougham only had a little decency, he 
would have a smattering of almost every- 
thing." 



178 MEMOIRS. 

His years of study in Germany gave Mr. 
Diman special interest in German affairs, and 
he watched the successive stages in the growth 
of the German empire with the greatest at- 
tention. " Those of our readers/' he wrote in 
July, 1866, " who were familiar with Berlin 
ten years ago, when the present king was 
crown-prince, will remember his well-known 
habit of standing by a window of his palace 
that faced the statue of Frederic, chatting 
with his aides-de-camp. Perhaps even then, 
with the prospect of succeeding his childless 
brother, he may have caught some inspiration 
from the gaunt bronze figure that he could 
not fail to see whenever he raised his eye ; 
but his wildest and most ambitious dreams, if 
he indulged in them, could hardly have com- 
passed the reahty he has lived to see. On 
one day the dignified assembly, which embod- 
ied the majesty, and claimed to direct the 
military force of fifteen dynasties, was issuing 
at Frankfort those Federal decrees, to which 
twenty-six millions of the German race had 
been accustomed to accord a willing, and 
twenty-five millions of other races a forced 
obedience ; and four days later twelve of 
these dynasties had ceased to possess any in- 
dependent political existence. Saxony and 



GERMAN POLITICS. 179 

Hanover were seized without a struggle ; the 
Elbe duchies, the innocent occasion of the 
strife, incorporated with Prussia by the simple 
omission of a word ; the despised and hated 
elector of Hesse driven from his dominions ; 
Oldenburg and Anhalt compelled to renounce 
the confederation ; the lesser dukes forced to 
accept commands in the Prussian army, or at 
least to abdicate their separate military power ; 
the fine city of Hamburg held by a Prussian 
general of division ; surely, could the bronze 
lips of Frederic speak, they would utter grim 
satisfaction at such results as these." 

Mr. Diman gathered his information from 
the foreign papers, and constantly wrote edi- 
torials setting forth the latest views of German 
affairs as presented in them, adding his own 
comments, and making the most complicated 
series of events perfectly intelHgible to his 
readers. 

Throughout the Franco-Prussian war his pen 
was busy. Editorials on " The Proceedings 
of the French Emperor," " The Tender Mer- 
cies of War," " Chalons-sur-Marne," and " The 
Tuileries," are among the most important. 
" No revolution," he writes, " would be com- 
plete in France that lacked a dramatic element, 
and the spectacle of the white flag marked 



180 MEMOIRS. 

with the red cross that now floats over the 
palace of the Tuileries gratifies a sentiment in 
the national heart hardly less strong than the 
love of glory itself. The palace is a monu- 
ment to the wonderful vicissitudes of French 
history ; and its walls, had they tongues to 
speak, could tell a story stranger and sadder 
than was ever embodied in any fiction." Then 
follows a brief history of the palace from the 
time when Catherine de Medicis " conceived 
the design of converting the desolate tile 
yard, that stretched westward from the Louvre, 
into the site of a fair royal residence," trac- 
ing its fortunes through the days of Henry 
IV. and Louis XIV., and the Reign of Terror. 
" No royal residence has ever been the scene 
of more memorable revolutions, but among 
them all, none has awakened such hearty ac- 
quiescence as that which has substituted for 
the frivolities of a corrupt court, the sweet 
ministrations of the Sisters of Charity." 

The closing events of the war were set forth 
in an editorial on the Downfall of Napoleon 
III. . . . 

" For the most conspicuous actor in this 
strange, eventful history, we confess to feel- 
ing little sympathy. Those who sow the wind 
have no reason to complain if they reap the 



THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 181 

whirlwind, and the public sentiment of man- 
kind recognizes the just retribution which has 
so swiftly overtaken him, whose supreme, mis- 
calculating selfishness was willing to threaten 
Europe with the horrors of universal war. . . . 
" The surrender at Sedan will be memorable 
in history, not so much for marking the over- 
throw of a war as the overthrow of a system. 
It is devoutly to be hoped that Csesarism has 
received its death-blow. When our civil war 
broke out, the announcement was somewhat 
prematurely made that republican institutions 
had proved a failure. The first European 
sovereign to be convinced of this, the one who 
urged most pertinaciously the recognition of 
the Southern States, was Napoleon III. He 
may now profitably ask himself the question 
whether the system of personal government 
has proved a complete success. For wellnigh 
twenty years he has held the reins in his own 
hands ; his absolute will has controlled the in- 
ternal administration not less than the foreign 
policy of France, yet in the hour of trial 
he has seen his army of ill-disciplined con- 
scripts shattered by the citizen-soldiery of 
Prussia, while he has not dared to trust himself 
within the walls of his own capital. He 
has been weighed in the balances and found 



182 MEMOIRS. 

Wanting. With an opportunity of making 
himself the organ of an enlightened public 
sentiment seldom vouchsafed to a man in any 
age, he has initiated no useful policy and 
created no permanent institutions. He has 
done nothing to fit France for self-government ; 
he has interfered with foreign states only in 
behalf of arbitrary power. His occupation of 
Rome was as clear an index of his political 
sympathies as the disastrous experiment in 
Mexico, which proved the prelude to his fall." 

Beside the foreign articles, some idea of which 
can be obtained from the foregoing extracts, 
Mr. Diman wrote reviews of books, and arti- 
cles of a more local character. Tuckerman's 
"Book of the Artists" had a long notice, 
tracing especially the influence of Rhode Island 
artists upon the growth of American art. 
" The continuous historical development of 
American art did not begin until Bishop 
Berkeley induced the Scotch painter Smybert 
to join with him in his benevolent scheme of 
carrying arts and letters to the new world." 
Thus Rhode Island became the birthplace of 
American art. 

Some years later Mr. Diman wrote reviews 
for the " Nation " and for some of the month- 
lies, which were brilliant and suggestive. But 



REVIEWS. 183 

for the " Journal/' while his reviews were not 
so extended and elaborate, there were articles 
on new books which much more than set forth 
their merits or defects. He called attention 
to any important essays in the current maga- 
zines, and in examining the views of opponents, 
had to an eminent degree the spirit he com- 
mends in the Duke of Argyle. 

" How rare and beautiful," he writes, " is 
the spirit that breathes in the following sen- 
tence : — - 

" ' Then as regards opponents, who has ever 
tried to follow their arguments with candor, 
without finding how much more they have to 
say for their opinions, than we had conceived 
possible before ? How strong is their hold of 
some important truths to which we perhaps 
had been comparatively insensible, and how 
much there is really good and true at the 
bottom even of their very errors.' 

" For expressing these sentiments we doubt 
not that the Duke himself will be denounced 
by all such as believe that misrepresentation 
and abuse are legitimate weapons of religious 
controversy, but they are views which will 
commend themselves to the increasing number 
who hold that charity has a place among 
Christian virtues." 



184 MEMOIRS. 

The following review of " The Day of 
Doom " is so characteristic that it is given 
entire. 

" The curious little poem which bears the 
above title, and which has just been reprinted 
by the American News Company of New 
York, may be best described as the Dies Irae 
of New England. We do not mean by this 
that it has the solemn grandeur and majestic 
rhythm of the masterpiece of mediaeval song, 
some of the verses of which Dr. Johnson could 
never repeat without tears, but simply that 
as the Dies Irae set to music the fundamen- 
tal religious conceptions of the Middle Ages, 
so the Day of Doom sets forth in a very strik- 
ing manner the popular religious notions pre- 
vailing in New England at the close of the 
seventeenth century. In one respect the Day 
of Doom has a great advantage over the Dies 
Irae. The author of the latter poem has 
never been clearly ascertained. While it has 
been commonly ascribed to Thomas of Celano, 
there have not been wanting writers to urge 
the claims of Gregory the Great, and even of 
Felix Hammerlin, a church dignitary of Zu- 
rich, whose name was latinized into Malleolus, 
or, as we should say in English, Little Hammer. 
But respecting the authorship of the Day of 



''THE DAY OF DOOM:' 185 

Doonij we are not aware that the most auda- 
cious critic has ever raised a question. We 
may question whether any such man as 
Homer ever existed ; we may give up the 
Epistles of Phalaris ; we may reduce Ossian 
to a Scotch mist ; but there seems no good 
reason to doubt that the Day of Doom was 
actually composed, as the title-page declares, 
' by Michael Wigglesworth, A. M., teacher of 
the church at Maiden, in New England.' Our 
young readers perhaps need to be informed 
that in those good old days, when Quakers 
were whipped, and witches were hung, the 
duties of the ministry were considered too ar- 
duous for any single individual, and accord- 
ingly most churches rejoiced in two spiritual 
heads, a pastor and a teacher. That the Rev. 
Michael Wigglesworth is not, after all, a 
myth, but did actually, and in the flesh, hold 
this ofi&ce, is proved beyond any reasonable 
doubt from the fact that there still exists in 
print a funeral sermon, setting forth his vir- 
tues, which was preached at Maiden, June 24, 
1705, by that most modest and veracious of 
Massachusetts divines, the Reverend Cotton 
Mather, D.D., F.R.S. 

" No poetry was more popular in New Eng- 
land a century ago than the Day of Doom. 



186 MEMOIRS. 

It was first published in 1662, and the first 
edition, consisting of eighteen hundred copies, 
was sold within a year, a popularity which, when 
we take into account the extent of the reading 
public of that age, is not surpassed by the 
most famed productions of Scott, or Dickens, 
in our own time. The poem at once took its 
place by the side of the Catechism ; at the be- 
ginning of the present century many an aged 
person was alive who could repeat almost the 
whole from memory. In his funeral sermon. 
Cotton Mather speaks of it as having ' been 
often reprinted in both Englands and may 
find our children till the Day itself arrive.' 

" As the title indicates, the poem is a descrip- 
tion of the Day of Judgment. The various 
conditions of men, who will make their appear- 
ance on that dread occasion, are represented 
as coming before the Final Arbiter and urg- 
ing their several pleas. After the saints have 
been justified, the several sorts of reprobates 
are described. Among these are hypocrites, 
^ civil honest men,' and heathen. But alto- 
gether the most remarkable and interesting 
of this class are the reprobate infants, who in 
their turn come forward, and urge the injus- 
tice of being made to suffer eternal torments 
for a sin which they had never committed. 



''THE DAY OF DOOM:' 187 

and for which Adam alone, they claim, should 
be held responsible. Say the infants : — 

* Not we, but he ate of the tree, 

whose fruit was interdicted ; 
Yet on us all of his sad Fall 

the punishment's inflicted. 
How could we sin, that had not been, 

or how is his sin, our. 
Without consent, which to prevent 

we never had the power.' 

" To this shocking theological heresy the 
Final Judge, or we should rather say, the Rev. 
Michael Wigglesworth, teacher of the church 
at Maiden, replies. His words deserve to be 
quoted as a most curious illustration of the 
popular theology of the time. We assure our 
readers that the whole was not introduced as 
a grim burlesque, but expressing the serious 
convictions of that age. After reading these 
lines no one will cavil at the remark of the 
editor of the volume, that ' Mr. Wigglesworth 
borrowed little from other poets.' This is 
the answer to the plea of the infants respect- 
ing their relation to Adam : — 

* He was designed of all Mankind 

to be a public Head ; 
A common Root, whence all should shoot, 

and stand in all their stead. 
He stood and fell, did ill or well, 

not for himself alone. 
But for you all, who now his Fall 

and trespass would disown. 



188 MEMOIRS. 

* Would you have griev'd to have received 

through Adam so much good, 
As had been your f orevermore, 

if he at first had stood ? 
Would you have said, ' We ne'er obey'd 

nor did thy laws regard ; 
It ill befits with benefits, 

us, Lord, to so reward ' ? 

* Since then to share in his welfare, 

you would have been content. 
You may with reason share in his treason, 
and in the punishment.' 

" But while the relation of infants to Adam 
is a crime, still a distinction is drawn : — 

* A crime it is, therefore in bliss 

you may not hope to dwell ; 
But unto you I shall allow 
the easiest room in Hell.' " 

Questions of the day could not fail to in- 
terest Mr. Diman. In an editorial on " Sec- 
tarian Religion in Public Schools/' he main- 
tained that the children of the Baptist, the 
Quaker, the Methodist, and the Catholic, must 
meet at school upon exact terms of equality. 
He also wrote on " Our Roman Catholic 
Brethren," and a " New View of Ritualism." 
"It is always easier to ridicule the external 
badges of a party than to appreciate their 
honest motives," he wrote ; and in these ar- 
ticles he extended " the fair play to our Rit- 



A FREE CHURCH. 189 

ualistic friends," which he was of the opinion 
they had not received. 

In a long article on a Free Church, he set 
forth his convictions of the importance of the 
subject : — 

" There is no practical problem now press- 
ing with more urgency upon the consideration 
of Protestant Christians, of every name, than 
that which relates to the most ef&cient meth- 
ods of placing the Gospel within the easy 
reach of every class in the community. On 
the solution of this problem depends the fur- 
ther question whether the whole voluntary sys- 
tem shall be regarded as a success. For few 
will hesitate to confess, that, if the voluntary 
system simply means that those who can af- 
ford it shall enjoy the privilege of listening, 
for a brief portion of one day in seven, to the 
polished discourses of favorite pulpit orators, 
and the strains of well-paid tenors and so- 
pranos, the sooner the general religious in- 
struction of the people is undertaken by the 
State the better. The cr3ring fault of the 
voluntary system is its exclusiveness, and no 
one can tread the nave of a great European 
minster, where the rich light, streaming 
through the painted window, bathes king 



190 MEMOIRS. 

and beggar alike as they kneel together be- 
fore a common Maker^ without feeling that 
American Christians have much to learn re- 
specting the right method of worshiping that 
Being, who is no respecter of persons." . . . 

All educational problems were of interest 
to Mr. Diman, especially were his sympathies 
called out for the deaf. A lengthy article is 
devoted to an historical review of the Methods 
of Deaf -Mute Education. The public schools 
also received his attention. For six years he 
was on the school board, and had a personal 
interest in their conduct. He called attention 
through the '^ Journal " to their needs, or to 
the annual reports, and pleaded for the es- 
tablishment of a summer school where some- 
thing of the Kindergarten system could be in- 
troduced. 

The Rhode Island Historical Society also 
felt the stimulus of his interest, and he wrote 
the " seminal articles " ^ on Brown University 
affairs to which his letters refer. 

The love for his birthplace found expres- 
sion in articles on " the first Church in Bris- 
tol," on " the late Robert Rogers," one of the 
famous merchants of the old seaport, and on 

1 See page 161. 



HOLIDAY ARTICLES. 191 

" Crowne the Poet/' who was singularly con- 
nected with the town. The fair peninsula, 

" Whose girdled charms 
Were Philips' ancient sway — " 

^' narrowly escaped the odd fate of being con- 
ferred by the good-natured Charles II. upon 
the English comic poet/' an episode in the 
history of the colonies which is recounted 
with much interest. 

In addition to these articles, and many 
more on kindred subjects, for six or eight 
years, Mr. Diman wrote the annual holiday 
articles, which were full of his own charm and 
grace. 

For the Fourth of July he wrote short his- 
torical essays, usually ending in a plea that the 
day should not be degraded into a common 
carnival. 

" The profoundest conditions of national 
development are spiritual rather than physical. 
. . . This is the day in which the inspirations 
of nationality are centered. 

. . . "In spite of the noisy demonstrations 
which have rendered it well-nigh intolerable, 
the Fourth of July is an anniversary full of 
proud and sacred recollections, a day in the 
calendar which no intelligent American will 
ever willingly see forgotten or disregarded. 



192 MEMOIRS. 

One of the purest patriots of the Eevolution 
predicted that its annual return would never 
cease to be the occasion of patriotic rejoicing, 
and for half a century the elder Adams was 
spared to see his words verified in the gather- 
ing of his fellow-citizens to the temples of 
religion, where with solemn ceremonial, with 
the voice of thanksgiving, and with words of 
eloquence, the fires were kindled afresh on 
the public altars. We deeply regret that all 
this is changed, and that the Day which was 
once celebrated with fit decorum has been al- 
lowed to sink into an unmeaning carnival. 
We do not complain of the boys. We have 
no desire to see their fun restricted. But we 
would have grown-up men keep the festival 
after a different fashion. They are old enough 
to appreciate its lessons." 

The Thanksgiving articles express the love 
of home and family so characteristic of their 
writer, and the Christmas celebrations are ten- 
der with his love of children. " In this 
over-worked and weary world little is left of 
Heaven save childhood with its innocent joys. 
Each new-born babe, had we but eyes to dis- 
cern it, repeats the old miracle of divinity 
veiled in the flesh, and except we become 



NEW YEAR'S ARTICLES. 193 

as little children, Heaven hides itself from our 
searching ken." 

For New Year's there are little sermons 
full of hope and courage, and constant look- 
ing for the things that are not seen : — 

^^ As soldiers who with slow step and sol- 
emn dirge have followed a comrade to his 
grave, soon as the funeral service has been 
completed strike up a lively march, so we, 
who have just paid the last sad rites to Sixty- 
seven, hasten this morning to offer a cheery 
welcome to Sixty-eight. By such swift tran- 
sition are we ever gliding from the Past to the 
Future ; so shadowy and evanescent is that 
ever-changing Present, which we seek in vain 
to stay in its restless course. In the pressure 
of new duties that crowd thick upon us, we 
have little time to bewail those that we have 
left undone. A wiser than any human teach- 
ing warns us to cast every weight aside, and 
run the race that is set before us. For our 
work lies in front, and not in the rear ; and 
the lessons of bygone experiences are only 
then useful when they lead us to act more 
wisely hereafter. Not from the things that 
have been, but from the things that shall be, 
does religion draw her most inspiring motives, 



194 MEMOIRS. 

and ever from the earthly Jerusalem does the 
eye of faith turn to the Jerusalem which is 
mother of us all." 

This unknown work of newspaper writing 
sprang from sincere conviction. 

" Of what value are letters, if they withdraw 
us from the duties of life ? " he writes. 
" There is no room in this land for the clois- 
tered seclusion of the old world. In a republic 
recognizing political equality as its corner- 
stone, every man, and especially every man of 
learning and culture, owes the commonwealth 
a debt. When public opinion shapes with 
resistless power the course of events, and the 
principles embraced by the masses are the in- 
spiration of political action, those who are 
qualified to mould opinion, and enforce princi- 
ples, should be the very last to retire from the 
arena." 

It was in this spirit Mr. Diman's editorials 
were written. They were written with a rapid 
pen as he says, but it is amazing, in looking 
over the large volume that contains them, to 
find such finished and careful work. As his 
sentences fell from his lips perfectly balanced 
and rounded, or crisp and epigrammatic, ac- 
cording to his theme, so with his pen. He 



CHRISTMAS. 195 

had no reserves of learning. It was all at com- 
mand, ready to draw upon at the instant, 
and at the service of all. It illuminated his 
simplest paragraph, and weighted his strongest 
argument. 

But few outside the Journal office knew the 
extent of his work, or conceived of the variety 
of subjects he treated. He held no public 
positions, but who shall say that " the earnest 
responsibilities of the citizen " were not wor- 
thily fulfilled ? 

The psalm in prose for Christmas, 1868, 
touches the chord which vibrated throughout 
his life, to which all else was tuned. The 
hearing of this " heavenly strain," amid the 
din of busy daily life, gave him his power and 
influence. It was this that opened his ears 
to the " music of humanity." 

" It was while standing at sunrise on the 
ramparts of Quebec, as Mr. Webster tells us, 
and listening to the morning drum-beat as it 
reverberated across the plains of Abraham, that 
the fine thought was first suggested to him, 
which was afterwards elaborated into one of 
his most effective sentences, of the martial 
airs of England keeping company with the 
hours and encircling the earth with a contin- 



196 MEMOIRS. 

uous strain of music. But a thouglit more 
sublime than this may suggest itself, this 
morning, to any who have an ear for the 
' music of humanity ; ' the thought of a heav- 
enly strain that sounds from age to age, as 
well as from land to land, a strain that through 
eighteen weary and toiling centuries has made 
itself heard above the tumult of the nations, 
proclaiming peace on earth and good will to 
men, and which this morning, first greeting 
the early dawn in what is probably the most 
ancient monument of Christian architecture in 
the world, the church of the Nativity at Beth- 
lehem, next circling amid the Isles of Greece, 
then filling with the grandest harmonies of 
modern music the matchless dome of Michael 
Angelo, and so onward and onward through 
sunny regions, where the Almighty is still 
worshiped in the ritual of Gregory and Am- 
brose, or where, beneath a more northern sky, 
the disciples of Calvin and of Luther join in 
joyous observance of the one great event to 
which Catholic and Protestant alike look back, 
crossing ocean and continent, making the 
waves clap their hands and the mountains 
break forth into singing, telling in every 
tongue the same marvelous story, how Christ 
was born, the Saviour of the world ! So let 



CHRISTMAS. 197 

it go, for in that strain are the hopes of men. 
With it go the holiest influences, the purest 
joys, that sweeten the life of man ! Healing 
is in its wings, and wherever its divine melody 
is heard amid earth's unquiet strife, the wilder- 
ness and the solitary place are glad, and the 
desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose. 

* Ring in the day, sweet chiming bells, 
Earth's strangest tale your music tells, 
How Christ, a little infant, came. 
Born 'mid the beasts of Bethlehem. 

Ring on, sweet bells, 

Till mingling swells. 
That tell his birth, chime round the earth.' " 



CHAPTER X. 

1868. AET. 37. 

Letters to President Angell. — Academic Duties. — Read- 
ing. — College Lecture. — Dictation. — Outline of Course 
of Study. — Saturday Questions. — Renaissance. — Ex- 
amination. — Modern History. — Constitution of the 
United States. — Recollections of the Class-Room. 

The letters to President James B. Angell, 
who in 1868 was still in Burlington, Vermont, 
have naturally a full account of Mr. Diman's 
college work. His own words, in relation to 
another, describe himself. " A true professor, 
like a poet, must be born, not made. He 
must have original aptitudes, and be swayed 
by enthusiasm for some particular study. 
There is no more ambiguous compliment than 
to say that a man could excel in any branch ; 
such general and indeterminate excellence is 
never the highest sort. True, Fontinelle de- 
clared of Leibnitz that he ' drove the sciences 
abreast ; ' but universal geniuses are century 
plants. The highest style of academic teach- 
ing can never be attained, save when each 



ACADEMIC DUTIES. 199 

professor is called to his specific work by a 
diviner election than that of the college cor- 
poration." ^ 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, July 8, 1868. 

My prodigious devotion to academic duties 
is the only excuse I can urge for allowing your 
letter to remain so long unanswered. The 
term has been a very busy, as well as pleasant, 
one with me. In the first part I wrote a 
wholly new course of lectures on the Reforma- 
tion, the most perplexing and difficult of all 
periods. How unlike the simple problems 
and easily analyzed phenomena of the mediae- 
val era ! The fundamental question raised, 
that of the limits of authority, remains to-day 
about where the Council of Trent left it. In 
the latter part of the term I went pretty fully 
into Colonial History, which I endeavored to 
present in its chief lines of development as a 
continuation of the great European movement, 
closing with new lectures on the Constitution 
of the United States, studied, not so much 
with regard to specific details, as with regard 
to fundamental political ideas, which were re- 
viewed historically, as, e.g., the theory of sov- 

^ In Memoriam : Robinson Potter Dunn, p. 64. 



200 MEMOIRS. 

ereignty compared with the feudal ; the federal 
idea compared with the ancient and European ; 
the theory of representation compared with 
the English, not in form but in principle. 

In this last I became very much interested. 
Many suggestions I derived from Brownson, 
J. C. Hurdj and the recent works of Farrar. 
It does not seem to me that either Kent or 
Story ever studied the Constitution profoundly 
in its relation to the whole course of modern 
political development. The former is particu- 
larly inexact in some of his statements. One 
part of the study in which I took great de- 
light was in tracing the influence of Roman 
ideas on our political maxims. In this, Maine's 
" Ancient Law " was a help. 

I have also had a capital class in Political 
Economy, in point of numbers by far the 
largest I ever had. It is, you remember, an 
elective study. I enjoy teaching it, as it ad- 
mits of such clear analysis and precise state- 
ment. 

Besides a good many books needed for 
my special work, I have recently been reading 
the concluding volumes of Motley, and am 
just finishing Kirk's "Charles the Bold." 
The sin of all American historians is diffuse- 
ness. Why do they not imitate the ancients ? 



POLITICAL ECONOMY, 201 

Have you looked into the new " History of 
England " by Pearson ? He makes no claims 
to original research, but condenses all the 
latest results, which in the Saxon and Norman 
periods is a great convenience. There is also 
a new " History of the Norman Conquest " by 
Freeman, whose " History of Federal Govern- 
ments " I have found very useful. I keep the 
run of English and foreign publications, and 
get for the library all that is valuable. For 
my religion I have been reading the "Life of 
Lacordaire," and " Unspoken Sermons," by 
George Macdonald, a book which you would 
enjoy. 

Accept this letter as only a brief part of 
what I might say, were we face to face. 

The lectures on Political Economy were a 
Junior " elective " for the last half year. 
There were usually about thirty lectures, two 
being delivered each week of the term. Mr. 
Diman divided the subject broadly into two 
parts. Production and Exchange. To the 
lectures strictly belonging to his subject he 
added a lecture on the history of Socialism in 
the United States, describing the growth of 
the various communities which have flourished 
here. At the end of the course he usually 



202 MEMOIRS, 

gave a lecture on taxation, and one on the 
National debt. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, November 11, 1868. 
We are getting on very quietly at college. 
I have been hard at work studying French 
institutions at the time of Charlemagne. I 
find that from natural taste my lectures more 
and more resolve themselves into a study of 
political institutions. I derive much help 
from the capital works of Lehuerou. 

To the young men of the Senior class, as- 
sembled in his lecture-room in University Hall, 
in the first week of the college term, Mr. Di- 
man was accustomed to deliver a lecture upon 
the value and uses of the study of History. 
He usually read the lecture here given, which 
was written in 1865. If, in the latter part of 
his life, Mr. Diman dispensed almost entirely 
with notes, the substance was still essentially 
the same, as is shown by the lecture-book of 
Mr. F. R. Hazard, of the last class Mr. Di- 
man instructed (1881). 

One modification in the lecture may be 
specially noted, as marking the growth of Mr. 
Diman's own conceptions : the spiritualizing 



INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 203 

of his views. As written, a sentence reads, 
" Religion first taught the unity of the race." 
A pencil has crossed out the first word, and 
the sentence stands, " Revelation first taught 
the unity of the race." There are no means 
of telling how long an interval of time elapsed 
between the original writing and the correc- 
tion. But the pencil makes marked modifica- 
tion, cutting out a few paragraphs and adding 
fresh illustrations, and is the guide which has 
been followed in the version of the lecture 
here given : — 

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 

Before entering upon a course so conspicu- 
ous in academic discipline as History, the 
scope and method of the study deserve to be 
considered. 

" A Professor of History, if I understand 
his duties rightly," said Dr. Arnold (in his 
Inaugural Lecture at Oxford), "has two prin- 
cipal objects : he must try to acquaint his 
hearers with the nature and value of the treas- 
ure for which they are searching ; and secondly, 
he must try to show them the best and speed- 
iest method of discovering and extracting it. 
The first of these two things may be done 
once for all ; but the second must be his 



204 MEMOIRS. 

habitual employment, the business of his pro- 
fessorial life." ^ 

At the present time, then, I shall discuss 
the nature and value of historical studies ; and 
I shall fail of my purpose if I do not satisfy 
you, not simply that the study deserves the 
important place assigned it in academic course, 
but that for the American student it has cer- 
tain distinct and peculiar claims, not alone as 
completing the culture of a scholar, but even 
more as providing an essential part of the 
education of the citizen. It is a study that 
yields to no other in its practical bearings. 

Goldwin Smith informs us that when the 
chair of Modern History was founded at Ox- 
ford in the reign of George I., the primary 
object was to train students for the public 
service. But the spirit of our institutions 
does not contemplate the training of a distinct 
class for any specific public duty. It is our 
glory that all positions of public influence 
and honor are thrown open to all classes of 
the people ; but with this opportunity is im- 
posed at the same time the responsibility — a 
responsibility that rests with peculiar weight 
on such as claim to be educated — of being 
qualified for the performance of these duties. 

1 Arnold's Modern History, p. 26. 



INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 205 

The value of History has been very vari- 
ously estimated by different men and at dif- 
ferent times. Dr. Johnson, it is well known, 
despised it ; and the saying of Sir Kobert 
Walpole, that it was a tissue of untruths, has 
been often quoted. Montaigne, in his inimi- 
table essays, does not scruple to confess that 
he loved to read History for the reason simply 
that it was pleasant and easy. But Johnson's 
vigorous understanding was yet too narrow 
in its range to comprehend the broad aspects 
and majestic sweeps of History ; Walpole 
knew it only as the gossip of courts ; while 
Montaigne, though living in the midst of the 
most momentous of modern centuries, seems 
never to have felt its pulsations, but in his 
secluded tower thought of History, not as the 
living drama unfolding about him every hour, 
but as the story preserved in the unimpas- 
sioned pages of Plutarch. And if History be 
regarded as no more than the chronicle of 
past events, if it teaches no lessons of truth 
and duty, if its successive evolutions have no 
vital and necessary relation to the living pres- 
ent, then was Montaigne right in regarding it 
as simply " pleasant and easy." 

It is, however, the more surprising that 
Bacon, in his famous division of the parts of 



206 MEMOIRS. 

human learning in accordance with the parts 
of man's understanding, assigning History to 
the memory, Poetry to the imagination, and 
Philosophy to the reason, should still have 
failed to conceive of History as anything 
more than chronicle. " History," says he, 
" which may be called past and present His- 
tory, is of three kinds, according to the object 
which it propoundeth or pretendeth to repre- 
sent ; for it either represents a time, or a per- 
son, or an action. The first we call Chronicles, 
the second. Lives, and the third. Narratives or 
Relations. " ^ 

As a matter of fact, it was not until three- 
quarters of a century after the publication of 
the '' Advancement of Learning " that the 
first adequate conception of the study was set 
forth by Bossuet in his celebrated discourse 
on Universal History. It is a fact to be re- 
membered that Christianity alone, teaching, as 
it did, that God had made of one blood all 
nations of the earth, could supply that idea of 
the organic unity of the human race, which 
forms the basis of the Philosophy of History. 
The religious idea of the unity and universal- 
ity of Providence suggested the philosophic 
idea of the unity and universality of human 
history. 

1 Bacon's Works, vol. vi., p. 189. 



INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 207 

This grand conception, presented by Bos- 
suet from a point of view too exclusively re- 
ligious, was in the next century extended by 
the Italian Yico, in his " New Science/' pub- 
lished in 1725, to political affairs, while it was 
reserved for the German Herder, before that 
century had closed, in 1784, to trace in his 
" Ideas relating to the Philosophy of History," 
the connection between physical phenomena 
and the progress of society. To these three 
illustrious thinkers the Philosophy of History 
owes its origin. Representing three different 
nations, they represent at the same time the 
three different elements to which History in 
its last analysis must be reduced. Bossuet, a 
theologian, lays greatest emphasis on the di- 
vine element, Yico, jurisconsult, on the hu- 
man, and Herder, a man of universal culture, 
on the natural. But these three elements, 
God, man, and nature, are the three essential 
constituents of History. In the present cen- 
tury the philosophic study of History has been 
simply an attempt to follow out these three 
directions. A disposition to lay exclusive 
stress upon some single one of these elements 
is the fault of most modern works.^ 

This sketch of the progress of Historical 

^ E. g., Guizot, Buckle. 



208 MEMOIRS. 

study lias already in part exhibited to us its 
nature, and only by comprehending its nature 
can we appreciate its true value. 

We have seen, that, as conceived by the 
most penetrating minds, History is not a dead 
and disconnected chronicle, but is instinct 
with order and life, that its phenomena must 
be made in every case to illustrate principles, 
and that its truths, certified by actual and long 
experience, are truths which wake 

**To perish never." 

To quote a saying not less true for being 
threadbare, " History is Philosophy teaching 
by example," and its teachings are all the more 
impressive and pointed because drawn from 
the experience of successive generations of 
men lilvc ourselves ; setting forth truths, not 
cold and abstract, like those of natural science, 
but burning with the passions, burdened by 
the sufferings, and gilded with the hopes of 
our common humanity ; its pages tragic at 
times, as those which picture the weakness of 
Lear, and the remorse of Macbeth ; at times 
melodious and splendid^ as the seraphic chorus 
of Milton's angels. 

The question here naturally arises, how far 
History is to be regarded as a science ; and 
how far its facts, arranged and classified, are 



INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 209 

capable of yielding by established rules of in- 
duction any fixed laws of historical develop- 
ment; a question which marks the limit to 
which the study has thus far been carried, 
and which at present is the foremost problem 
presented to the historical student. 

The Science of History and the Philoso- 
phy of ffistory are, however, not the same. 
Without announcing that History is a science, 
we may claim that it has a Philosophy ; in 
other words, without asserting that the actions 
of men, like the events in the physical world, 
are governed by fixed and inevitable laws, 
and that these laws can be deduced with the 
certainty with which we deduce the law of 
gravitation, we may assume that there exists 
a divine order in History, and that the great 
lessons set forth in the successive evolutions 
of this order may be interpreted. Without 
holding, with Buclde, that the history of civil- 
ization is Hke the growth of a tree, we may, 
with Guizot, analyze its successive phases. 

This distinction between the Science of 
History and the Philosophy of History is still 
more clearly seen if we consider the two fun- 
damental truths on which the Philosophy of 
History is built. These are : 1st, Unity ; 2d, 
Progress. These are truths which no in- 



210 MEMOIRS. 

ductive science of society ever reached, and 
which may well be doubted whether it ever 
could reach. Science has indeed had much to 
say of late years of development, but it is de- 
velopment proceeding from no recognized be- 
ginning and tending to no recognized end, 
the ceaseless transformation of material sub- 
stance. 

For these two controlling ideas we are in- 
debted not to inductive science, but to Revela- 
tion. Revelation first taught the unity of the 
race, and in its doctrine of a superintending 
Providence first taught that, beneath the ap- 
parent confusion of human affairs, a divine 
eternal plan was running smoothly on towards 
final accomplishment. In the nature of things 
an inductive science could never unfold this 
plan while the course of development was still 
in progress. Thus the Philosophy of History, 
inspired by religion, is made wholly indepen- 
dent of the Science of History. 

With this distinction recognized, it may be 
further said that the study of History, pursued 
philosophically, is the study of society; not 
the mere loading of the memory with dates 
and names, but the enlargement of the under- 
standing in the recognition of general princi- 
ples; not the investigation of isolated facts, 



INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 211 

but the perception of connected movement. In 
this view institutions are obviously much more 
deserving of study than ever, and aspects of 
society are to be taken into account rather 
than details of battles and sieges. 

And further, when the nature of History is 
thus understood, the objections to the study 
fall at once to the ground. Those objections 
may all at last be reduced to two. 

1st. That the statements of History, for the 
most part, are not true. 

2d. That if true, they are not worth learn- 
ing. In support of the first, the many and 
acknowledged contradictions of History are 
alleged ; and in support of the second it is 
asked, of what possible importance is it at the 
present day to know what was cut on the 
Rosetta Stone, or whether Rome was governed 
in the beginning by kings ? 

It might be said, indeed, in reply, that the 
same questions may with equal propriety be 
asked respecting a large portion of the knowl- 
edge that awakens human curiosity and stimu- 
lates human inquiry. It might, for example, 
as well be asked what use there is in know- 
ing what fishes inhabit the Amazon, or the 
distances of the fixed stars ; but History may 
appeal to other, and sounder arguments to 



212 MEMOIRS, 

attest the value of her results. These results 
have a practical bearing on human duty and 
welfare that no natural science, however far- 
reaching and sublime, can claim. 

We may grant that the statements of History 
are, in many cases, shrouded in uncertainty ; 
but this becomes a matter of comparatively 
slight consequence, when we remember that 
the great value of History is in its broader 
aspects and in its general truths. Uncertainty 
in specific details does not in the least affect 
the stability of these conclusions. We may 
doubt whether there ever existed such a man 
as Romulus, but we can have no doubt as to 
the growth and structure of the Roman con- 
stitution. The account of Catiline by Sallust 
we may put aside as a party pamphlet, but 
we cannot question that terrible political pro- 
fligacy which worked at last the ruin of the 
republic. We may charitably suspect some 
details preserved respecting the private life of 
Charlemagne, but we cannot mistake the in- 
fluence of the feudal system. The study of 
long-established and widespread institutions 
or of the grand results of historic progress 
are as independent of any questions respecting 
specific facts, as the study of the successive 
phases of Gothic architecture is independent 



INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 213 

of the question who was the designer of the 
Cologne Cathedral. 

Again, we may grant that many facts of 
History are of little or no consequence, and 
deserve as little to be investigated as the 
questions by Tiberius to the grammarians, 
what song the sirens sang, or what dress 
Achilles assumed when he hid himself among 
the women ; but this does not at all lessen the 
value of other facts, — facts which, like the 
facts of the natural world, derive their value 
from their relation to principles. A circum- 
stance recorded by Thucydides or Tacitus may, 
in itself, be merely a curious incident ; but it at 
once becomes far more than this when seen 
in its bearing upon some truth of universal 
and lasting import, or upon some question 
that society is now seeking anxiously to an- 
swer. No one can read the writings of the 
founders of our own federal government with- 
out perceiving how carefully they studied the 
structure of the ancient republics ; and though 
the problems now given us as a nation to solve 
are in some respects unlike those given to any 
former age, yet who would say that the terri- 
ble convulsion that grew from the refusal of 
the Eoman senate to extend the franchise, 
may not have a lesson which we cannot 
afford to neglect. 



214 MEMOIRS. 

If now the question be asked^ what is the 
special use and benefit of Historical study ? I 
answer^ that as History is the record of man's 
career, not as an individual, but as a social 
being, so the study of History is his best disci- 
pline for the performance of his social duties. 
" Histories," says Bacon, " make men wise." 
It cannot be doubted that the study of History 
forms the best preparation for the judicious 
performance of those duties which belong to 
men as members of society, and which, says 
Algernon Sidney, " seem so far to concern all 
mankind, that besides the influence on our 
future life, they may be said to comprehend 
all that in this world deserves to be cared 
for." 

This relation of the study of History to 
sound political training gives to the study an 
unprecedented worth in a country like our 
own, where all are called to exercise the func- 
tions of the citizen, and where any may aspire 
to the highest spheres of public service. No 
young man can be considered educated who 
is not educated for these duties. Whatever 
may be the special calling he has in view, 
whatever profession he means to enter, or 
whatever business to engage in, he should 
never neglect to fit himself to those larger 



INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 215 

duties wMch will devolve upon him as a citi- 
zen of the Republic. 

But when we further consider the vast 
influence which educated young men have 
always exerted, and always must exert, in a 
community like ours; when we call to mind 
the remark of one of the most sagacious 
thinkers that ever lived, " that the knowledge 
of the speculative principles adopted by young 
men is the surest guide to political prophecy/' 
then the immense practical bearings of this 
study become still more obvious. A broad His- 
torical training is the best possible safeguard 
against rank political theory. While, on the 
one hand, the teachings of History inculcate a 
lofty faith in human progress and in human 
destiny, still, on the other hand, they warn us 
that this* progress is slow and often inter- 
rupted ; that it is purchased with great sacri- 
fices and with bitter suffering, and that while 
it cannot be delayed, so it cannot be hastened, 
by rash counsel or by ruinous extremes. 
'' Thus," to quote the excellent advice of the 
Earl of Worcester, commending the study of 
History to Charles II., then Prince of Wales, 
" you shall see the excellences and the errors 
both of kings and subjects, and though you 
are young in years, yet living by your reading 



216 MEMOIRS. 

in all these times, be older in wisdom and 
judgment than nature can afford any man to 
be without this help." 

It only remains to say that the study of 
History, while in some respects the most fasci- 
nating of studies, is in some respects the most 
difficult. As it is the study of man, it re- 
quires the knowledge which is the rarest of 
all, — the knowledge of human nature. We 
greatly mistake when we regard History as 
a study that tasks only the memory. To be 
pursued with success, it demands a ripe devel- 
opment of the judgment and the reasoning 
faculties. The imagination also enters into 
it as an essential part. There is scarcely a 
department of human science from which it 
does not levy its contributions.^ 

• ^ Then follows a list of authorities : — 
Bossuet, Vieo, Herder. 

Cousin, Introduction a VHistoire de la Philosophie. 
Abbd de Mably, De V Etude de VHistoire. 
Bolingbroke, Letters on the Study and Use of History. 
Arnold, Lectures on Modern History. 
Goldwin Smith, Lecture on Study of History. 
Comte, Positive Philosophy. 
Westminster Review, Oct., 1842, Vol. 38. 
J. S. Mill, Logic, Book VI. 
Wm. Adam, Theories of History. 
Buckle, History of Civilization. 

Kant, Idea of Universal History in a Cosmopolitan Point of 
View. Works, vii. 317. 
Stephens, Lecture on History of France. 



METHOD OF TEACHING. 217 

The course of study thus introduced was 
divided into two parts : lectures on Mediaeval 
Institutions, and lectures on Modern History. 
A whole week was given to each lecture, di- 
viding it into five sections, to each of which 
an hour was given, and on Saturday came the 
summing up of the whole, and questions in 
review. A written analysis of a chapter of 
Guizot was also required each week. Beside 
the regular dictation, which occupied a few 
pages each day, many of the students took 
full notes, which give the feehng of the class- 
room, and explain the enjoyment they had in 
the lectures. From the lecture-book of Mr. 
Rowland G. Hazard 2d, which received Mr. 
Diman's commendation at the end of the year 
as being unusually full and accurate, these 
characteristic remarks are taken : — 

" One would suppose from reading Hegel's 
lectures that the course of History ended when 
he stopped lecturing in 1820. Now it is pos- 
sible that History may go on." The course 

After these comes a page to be dictated to the students. 

The branches of knowledge which are especially con- 
nected with History, and on which it depends, are : 1. Chro- 
nology ; 2. Geography, (a) Physical, (b) Historical. 

And then we proceed to its higher problems : 3. Political 
Economy ; 4. Jurisprudence ; 5. Moral Philosophy. 

Books recommended : Student's Gibbon, White's Eighteen 
Christian Centuries. 



218 MEMOIRS. 

is thus defined : " By Mediaeval History is 
meant in general the period from the fall of 
the Western to the fall of the Eastern empire, 
from 476 to 1453. But all chronological 
divisions are imperfect, since the distinction 
between one period and another is not chrono- 
logical, but must be sought in the underlying 
ideas which shape institutions and events. 
Dates are merely like pegs to hang our hats 
on, — not essential." 

The lectures were on the Eoman element, 
the Christian element, the Germanic element ; 
and so on to the rise of Feudalism, the Cru- 
sades, — the great achievement of Feudalism, 
— the rise of the Franks, the Church and the 
Empire, to the dawn of the Renaissance and 
the fall of Constantinople. The Saturday 
questions, for which written answers were re- 
quired, were always constructed to bring out 
the student's conception of the whole subject, 
never specific questions, to be answered by a 
date or a fact. Early in the course occur 
these, which are good examples of the kind 
of comprehension required : — 

1. Define the limits of the empire under 
the Antonines. 

2. Explain civil administration under Con- 
stantine. 



LECTURES OF THE FIRST TERM. 219 

3. State the successive steps of the division 
of the empire into Eastern and Western. 

In the lecture on Feudahsm we find, " The 
duel was a restraint upon indiscriminate slash- 
ing, and was really the first step in civilization. 
Slavery was also a step in advance, since it 
took the place of butchery." 

In the period of the Renaissance Mr. Di- 
man always took special interest, and some of 
his most attractive lectures were delivered upon 
it. " All true architecture," he says, " is the 
expression of feeling, or the embodiment of 
thought. The oppressive gloom of the Egyp- 
tian sanctuary, the graceful symmetry of the 
Grecian temple, the endless variety of the 
Mediaeval Munster, expressed in material 
forms the despair, the contentment, the aspi- 
ration of difEerent races. Regarded in this 
light. Mediaeval architecture is the most trust- 
worthy record of the spiritual Hfe of the Mid- 
dle Age." The Renaissance in Italy is dwelt 
upon, with lectures full of apt characterization 
of the great artists. Michael Angelo is called 
the " water-shed of architecture." " Leonardo 
marks the highest pitch of art. He has the 
greatest depth of expression, and the most 
technical training. If we look back, training 
runs out, and ideals run up." 



220 MEMOIRS. 

Thomas a Kempis, Reuclilin, Erasmus, and 
Ximenes were considered as preparing the 
way for the Reformation, and the half-year 
ended with the examinations which Mr. Di- 
man says were " regarded as severe." Severe 
they were, because no " cramming " was of 
avail ; the student had to have some real com- 
prehension of the subject.^ 

After the mid-winter recess, lectures on 
Modern History were begun. 

" In passing from Mediaeval to Modern 
History, we pass not simply to a new period, 
but to new phenomena, to more complex in- 
terests, to more varied religious and political 
antagonisms. The revival of letters marked 
a revolution in thought from the religious to 
the secular spirit. The economic revolution 
came along with this, and the geographical 
discoveries followed, which changed the moral 
notions of Europe." 

^ The following half-year examination has been selected 
from several examination papers as a fair example : — 

1. What essential service has been rendered History by 
the scientific method ? 

2. What were the immediate sources of Feudalism ? 

3. What was- the real service rendered European civiliza- 
tion by Charlemagne ? 

4. How did the Crusades affect the servile classes ? 

5. How did the Renaissance contrast with Mediaeval cul- 
ture ? 



LECTURES OF THE SECOND TERM. 221 

The lectures on the Reformation, the Wars 
of Reliofion, Absolute Monarchy in France, 
the European Colonial System, the Balance of 
Power, and Modern Political Theory, it is not 
the place to follow here. Their very titles 
give an idea of the wide and comprehensive 
survey of European affairs to which Mr. Di- 
man led his students. The " struggle after 
unity " in his religious convictions was also a 
forming force in his intellectual life ; and his 
philosophic grasp of the subjects he treated 
made them clear to his students. 

The lectures were relieved with constant 
bright descriptive touches. Of Alexander Bor- 
gia he says : " Making a liberal allowance in 
his favor, he would still hold an eminent posi- 
tion among the sinners of any age." And of 
PhiHp of Spain : " Mr. Motley, though a very 
sprightly and brilliant writer, is not always 
to be implicitly accepted. As, for example, he 
would have us believe Philip II. to be almost 
an idiot who did nothing but correct the 
spelling of despatches. Philip was, however, 
a very remarkable man, with great powers of 
detail." Ag-ain we find : " The real founder 
of Prussia was Frederick William I., who was 
short, thick-set, and dumpy. He had veracity, 
chastity, and honesty, which are enough to 



222 MEMOIRS. 

distinguish any man in the eighteenth cen- 
tury." 

After the spring recess about a fortnight 
was usually given to daily lectures on the 
Constitution of the United States, tracing the 
growth of the colonies, and their stages of 
development, and final separation from the 
Mother-country. The Constitution was fully 
expounded, and Mr. Diman's last word was like 
his first, — one of exhortation to the students 
before him. " The stability of our govern- 
ment depends on the correspondence of the 
Constitution with the convictions of the peo- 
ple. Hence the peculiar responsibility resting 
on the class of educated men, in a country 
like ours, by whom pubhc opinion is shaped." 

Being prepared by the study of History, the 
students devoted their last month in college 
under Mr. Diman to International Law. On 
this he delivered lectures founded upon Presi- 
dent Woolsey's book. To these lectures ref- 
erence will be found in several of the letters. 
For clear analysis and beauty of arrangement, 
they equal any he ever delivered, while want- 
ing, in the nature of the case, in the pictur- 
esque description of the more purely historical 
lectures. 

Of Mr. Diman's manner in the class-room, 
Mr. Rowland G. Hazard, 2d, writes : — 



RECOLLECTIONS OF THE CLASS-ROOM. 223 

"To the average student who followed Pro- 
fessor Diman out of chapel into that low square 
room in University Hall^ where the history lec- 
tures were given, there came a sinking of the 
heart, as he reflected that he might be the 
first man up. 

" ' The Professor ' was evident in the very 
manner of the man, as he swung into the 
room with that one-sided walk, laid aside 
coat and hat with an air of abstraction, and 
with nothing but his class-book in his hand, 
took his chair upon the little platform. He 
used eye-glasses, perhaps more as an occupa- 
tion for his left hand than an aid to vision. 
As he adjusted them to read the roll-call, his 
manner was precise and formal, perhaps even 
a little stiff, and he read the names of the men 
rapidly, and with but one repetition of the 
name if a man were absent. Then very de- 
liberately scanning the list, he selected a name 
and called upon the owner of it to give the 
points of the previous day's lecture. Professor 
Diman seemed to put all his intelligence at 
work to understand the foggiest recitation 
from the dullest one of us, provided it gave 
him the idea of any real effort on the student's 
part. He was sometimes impatient at bun- 
gling attempts, but rarely showed it by any 



224 MEMOIRS. 

prompting. No one on the Faculty, we all 
felt, was so quick to detect the man who, not 
having studied the subject, was talking against 
time ; and his quiet ' that wiU do, sir, — next,' 
on such occasions generally made such an im- 
pression as to effectually stir up that man for 
a while. But we used to think that he was 
sometimes deceived by our ' parrots,' — men 
who would reel off page after page verbatim 
as the Professor himself had said it. He used 
to tell us that he did not wish us to use his 
words, and preferred us to take our own, so 
that when a ' parrot ' was well received we 
used to wonder a little. But it had to be a 
bright parrot, for the cross-fire of questions 
which always followed the recitation would 
have made it impossible for men without knowl- 
edge to have answered. The explanation of 
the high favor in which some of our ' rote ' 
men stood lay, perhaps, in Professor Diman's 
not knowing exactly his own phrases. This 
might easily have been so ; for he never, so far 
as I can remember, dictated from fully written 
notes, but always used small sheets of note 
paper, which he had in his pocket, until he 
wished to use them, and which he put away 
aofain the moment he was done. I never 
remember to have caught more than a glimpse 



RECOLLECTIONS OF THE CLASS-ROOM. 225 

of these note-sheets, but always supposed they 
contained merely the analysis of the subject 
in hand. He was always extremely familiar 
with his subject. I have known him to go 
through a very complicated division of a topic 
into A, B, and C, with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 under 
each letter, without so much as taking the 
analysis from his pocket ; and this with such 
perfect ease and fluency, that it was an inspi- 
ration to do the same thing. How often have 
I been disgusted with myself for faiHng to 
accomplish such a feat after once re-reading 
my notes ! He did it so easily, so gracefully, 
why could not I ? 

"As to the manner of his lecture upon 
which we were expected to take either verbatim 
notes or such as should enable us to remember 
every point made, it was almost too rapid to 
allow of writing out fully, and a common com- 
plaint used to be that we had all missed some 
point of minor interest, which each one had re- 
lied on his neio['hbor taking* down. The Ian- 
guage used was always racy and delightful, 
full of life, and sometimes tinged with sarcasm. 
His fund of illustrative anecdote was appar- 
ently inexhaustible, and, as we learned by 
comparing notes with our predecessors, varied 
from year to year, as indeed the lectures did. 



226 MEMOIRS. 

I never thought his appreciation of the humor- 
ous very keen, but he certainly enjoyed the 
ludicrous intensely. I have heard him tell of 
an examination in the Constitutional History of 
the United States, on which he always lectured 
at the close of Senior year. It was early in 
the subject, and a few recitations had been 
made on the condition of the States, and their 
readiness for the movement which culminated 
in the Declaration of Independence, when a 
man was called up who had been a blunderer 
always, but for whose zeal and willingness to 
work Professor Diman had a real respect. 
After a number of questions, all of which re- 
mained unanswered, had been put, willing to 
favor the poor fellow as much as possible, and 
intending to ask at least one question which 
the man must be able to answer. Professor Di- 
man asked, ' Under what were the colonies 
living previous to the adoption of the Con- 
stitution ? ' the obvious answer being, ' Under 
King George.' But when the answer came, 
' Before the Constitution ? Why, I suppose 
they were living under the Preamble, sir,' 
even the gravity of the Professor was upset. 

'' Always fair, and ready to admit an error, 
if he had made one, which happened almost 
never, he yet had the reputation amongst 



RECOLLECTIONS OF THE CLASS-ROOM. 227 

many of his students of being very severe ; 
they said he was a ' hard man^ and by some 
he was even disliked. His abhorrence of any- 
thing vulgar in a man was so strong as to in 
great measure account for this. As I think 
over the men who did not like him, I find 
they must all have offended him in this way. 
But even those who did not like him, who 
never got over the first impression of coldness 
and relentlessness which his impartiality some- 
times produced, came to admit his power, and 
to feel the stimulating effects of his enthu- 
siasm. It was under his inspiring guidance 
that the boys became men, and awakened to a 
sense of the wideness of study, and the neces- 
sity of concentrating every energy upon the 
work in hand, in order to make any worthy 
progress. This awakening faculty, the power 
to create in the immature nature a real desire 
for mental gain, an actual thirst for knowl- 
edge. Professor Diman certainly possessed to 
a remarkable degree. We all felt his influ- 
ence strongly ; many of us still feel it, and 
must be influenced by it as long as life lasts." 



CHAPTER XI. 

1869-1871. AET. 38-40. 

Letter to President Angell. — Amherst Oration. — Preach- 
ing. — Letter to Miss Emerson. — Home Life. — Thanks- 
giving. — Letters to President Angell. — Offers of a Pro- 
fessorship in Harvard University. — Letters to President 
Eliot. — Offer declined. — Lecture. — Harvard again. — 
Degree of Doctor of Divinity. — Offer from Wisconsin of 
the Presidency of the State University. — School Board. 
— A Deer Hunt on the Kaquette. 

The year 1869 was the first that Mr. Di- 
man delivered an oration at another college 
than Brown. The Amherst oration referred 
to in the following letter was on " The 
Method of Academic Culture," before the 
Phi Beta Kappa Society of Amherst College, 
at its meeting July 6, 1869.^ 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, May 15, 1869. 
Our college term has gone through pleas- 
antly, with an unusual amount of good, honiest 
work. I am just now teaching Colonial His- 
tory, which I endeavor to reduce to its con- 

^ Orations and Essays. 



PREACHING. 229 

stituent principles, a la Guizot. It is wonder- 
ful how readily the bright minds take to the 
study, when they come to see that it concerns 
something more than mere memory. I have 
been busy about various matters, and so have 
not begun my oration for Amherst yet. I 
will hold myself in readiness for Burlington, 
but fear that I shall not be able to prepare 
fresh matter. This I very much regret, not 
less on my own account than yours. 

I have been preaching a good deal this 
spring ; in fact, have not passed a Sunday in 
Providence since Easter. Most of the time I 
have supplied Dr. Bushnell's church, in Hart- 
ford, but to-morrow go to Boston. So you 
see the " Orthodox " continue to " get good," 
as you say, out of me. 

At this time Dr. Bushnell had long ceased 
to preach, and the pulpit of the North Church 
in Hartford was vacant. For eight Sundays, 
during April, May, and June, Mr. Diman 
supplied it. " The committee always thought," 
writes Dr. Burton, the present pastor, " they 
had done one of the most acceptable things to 
the congregation when they had secured Mr. 
Diman. I frequently heard it remarked upon, 
that when he stood in the desk the place was 
thoroughly filled." 



230 MEMOIRS. 

TO MISS TIRZAH EMEESOl^T. 

Providence, July 28, 1869. 

How delighted I was to get your letter, and 
such a eharmmg account, too, it gave me of 
your travels. Much of it I had passed over, 
and I followed you in fancy through the Tyrol, 
the Salz-Kanimergut, to Linz and Vienna. It 
makes me long for the time you will be with 
us again, and when, some winter evening, by 
a bright wood-fire, we may make the journey 
together. Then, too, we will discuss the 
deeper questions of the soul, to which you ad- 
vert, as I passed through much the same ex- 
perience during the two years I spent in Eu- 
rope. I imagine it is an experience through 
which all young persons pass, whose spiritual 
nature is roused to much activity. 

You ask what we have been doino' this lons^ 
time. We have been greatly blessed with 
health, and you would hardly know the chil- 
dren, they have grown so. M. came in from 
the garden just as I began to write, and sends 
her love to you. She has now been to school 
long enough to become quite proficient, and 
takes o^reat delio'ht in readino;' her little mao;- 
azine. Master J., who has thus far pursued 
his studies with his mamma, displays as yet 



HOME LIFE. 231 

no particular love of letters, but we hope for 
better things by and by. Their lives have 
been very happy, and it really makes one bet- 
ter to hear every hour their merry laughter, 
and watch them trudging about the garden. 
They have a favorite visitor in an enormous 
dog, belonging to a neighbor, who comes 
regularly to see them every day. 

When your letter came, I was just begin- 
ning to write a Phi Beta Kappa oration, which 
I had eno^asred to deliver at Amherst Collesre. 
. . . Last week I went to Andover and re- 
peated my address, and next week do the 
same at Burlington ; so you see my time this 
summer is much taken up with " orciting." 
My taste does not, however, incline strongly 
that way. To me it is far pleasanter to sit by 
my own fireside and chat with a dear friend. 

I have been preaching constantly this spring 
and summer, most of the time in Hartford, 
and in the new Central Church in Boston. 
The latter is very splendid, much the most so 
of any church that has been built in New 
England ; but unfortunately it leaves the So- 
ciety burdened with a huge debt. Not the 
least charm of those glorious old cathedrals, 
which you tell me you enjoy so much, is the 
fact that they stand open to rich and poor 



232 MEMOIRS. 

alike. They were, in fact, the most demo- 
cratic institutions of the Middle Age. I love 
to see handsome churches; the temples in 
^yhicll we worship God should not be inferior 
to our own dwellings, but they should be built 
as free-will offerings, and not paid for by the 
sale of pews. How much I enjoyed those old 
cathedrals, especially that of Vienna, and some 
of the quaint, irregidar ones on the Rhine ! 

This charming picture of Mr. Diman's home 
life is completed by his Thanksgiving reflec- 
tions for the same year, in the " Providence 
Journal " : — 

" Next to that Faith without which all 
earthly blessings are but curses in disguise, 
there is nothino- for which anv of iis should 
be so grateful as a happy home. In the pure 
affections that centre here is the spring of 
whatever is most ennoblino- in life. What- 
ever disasters and disappointments may has^e 
overtaken us, if they have not invaded this 
charmed circle, we may gather with cheerful 
hearts about our tables. For all burdens in 
life may be bravely borne, if no sorrow or 
shame has crossed the threshold. When the 
All-merciful and loving: Father ordained that 



MODERN SOCIETY AND DOMESTIC LIFE. 233 

his children should dwell in families, he placed 
within their reach sources of happiness and 
strength that from age to age have been as 
springs of water in a dry and thirsty land. 
For all this let us devoutly Ijless His holy 
name to-day. 

" Perhaps as time goes on we are getting 
to be a little old-fashioned in our notions, and 
do not keep pace with the social and politi- 
cal improvements that are so rife ; but some- 
times in our moods of sober reflection we are 
led to ask ourselves the question, whether the 
aggregate of human happiness about us is in- 
creased at all in the ratio of all this bustle and 
stir that goes under the name of modern pro- 
grress. Are the essential sources of our liisrh- 
est welfare multiplied with the multiplied in- 
ventions and discoveries of this anxious and 
unquiet age ? In one important particular, at 
least, it may be doubted whether we have ad- 
vanced upon the fathers. When we consider 
some of the more salient tendencies of modern 
society in relation to domestic life, and, for 
example, the lessened regard for the sanctity 
of the marriage tie, the lack of interest in the 
quiet enjoyments of home, the increasing love 
of excitement and of social dissipations that 
tend to render domestic cares a drudge, 



234 MEMOIRS. 

we may seriously ask ourselves the question, 
"whether in one important respect, at least, 
we are improving upon the methods of those 
who kept their Thanksgivings before the age 
of the steam-engine and the telegraph. 

" We have no desire to make ourselves ob- 
noxious to the charge of unreasonably lauding 
the things of the past. We are fully alive to 
the failings of our forefathers, and our col- 
umns bear abundant witness to the fact that 
we are never indisposed to subject them to 
reasonable criticism : but when we recall some 
of the pictures that have been preserved of 
the home-life of the Puritans, these well-or- 
dered households, a little austere and prim, 
perhaps, in their outward aspect, but so per- 
vaded with lofty sense of duty, where was so 
much of reverence for age, such blending of 
strict parental authority with returns of filial 
affection ; when, above all, the precepts of re- 
ligion were imbibed with the mother's milk, 
and the round of daily cares was perfumed 
with the fragrance of the morning and even- 
ing sacrifice, — we are tempted to think that 
we have, after all, but a poor substitute fur- 
nished in much for which we pay a high price, 
under the guise of modern accomplishments 
and modern improvements." . . . 



THE HOLLIS PROFESSORSHIP. 235 

Mr. Diman was offered the presidency of 
the College of the City of New York, this 
year (1869), and the first efforts were made to 
induce him to go to Cambridge. The letters 
to President Angell give a full account of the 
various offers that were made him. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, September 8, 1869. 

I received this week, somewhat to my sur- 
prise, a formal offer of the HoUis Professor- 
ship at Cambridge. The plan is, that I hold 
my present place, going to Cambridge one day 
in the week, to lecture ; the lectures being 
given in the Divinity School. 

It is not, as I understand, in the least de- 
signed that I become in any way identified 
with Unitarians, the object of the corporation 
being to convert the Divinity School into 
something like the Theological Faculty of a 
German University, having no connection 
with any sect. 

Now, let me know what you think of the 
plan. Is it possible thus to be connected 
with two institutions, for I should become a 
regular professor at Harvard holding the old- 
est foundation, and would my position in any 
way be compromised ? 



236 MEMOIRS. 

September 11. 

I go to Cambridge on Friday to confer with 
President Eliot. 

Providence, December 7, 1869. 
You were quite right in your conjecture 
that the Cambridge matter would not rest. 
Soon after the first arrangement fell through, 
I received another offer, which I have now 
under consideration, to go to Cambridge as 
full resident professor, with a salary of $4,000. 
My title would be HoUis Professor, but my 
duties about what I chose to make them. 
Eliot urges me very strongly to come, on 
grounds of public duty, " to aid in building 
up a veritable University." I was in Cam- 
bridge last week to look into things, and re- 
ceived a very cordial greeting. There are 
many things to be considered beside the mere 
academic question, and my mind as yet is 
far from made up. Let me hear what you 
think about it. 

January 9, 1870, Mr. Diman wrote to 
President Eliot : " The scruples that I have 
felt respecting my own fitness to perform the 
duties assigned the HoUis Professorship are 
so far removed, that I pledge myself to accept 
the position, should the corporation see fit to 



THE HOLLIS PROFESSORSHIP. 237 

elect me to it." This was written on Sunday, 
the ninth. Before any action could be taken 
in regard to the matter Mr. Diman sought 
an interview with President Eliot, and with- 
drew his acceptance. Of this interview he 
writes : — 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, January 14, 1870. 

I went to Cambridge on Tuesday, failed 
to see Eliot, so went again yesterday. He re- 
ceived me with the utmost kindness, and was 
disposed to enter into a full discussion of the 
affair. I assured him that my feeling of 
doubt was so strong that I should not feel 
justified in allowing the matter to proceed. 
He seemed disappointed, but was exceedingly 
kind about it, evidently thinking that I was 
suffering from temporary reaction. I urged 
him to drop the thing altogether, but this he 
would not consent to do. He, however, said 
that he should proceed no further at present ; 
otherwise I should have been elected to-day. 
He said I ought to look at it simply in the 
light of duty, and that I assumed a grave re- 
sponsibility if I declined. So the thing rests, 
but I feel immense relief. 



238 MEMOIRS. 

TO PRESIDENT ELIOT. 

Providence, January 31, 1870. 
I have been very deeply impressed with the 
earnestness with which you urge my coming to 
Cambridge, and have given the proposition in 
your last letter a most serious consideration. 
It is necessary for me to say that I fully ap- 
preciate the honor of the position, and that I 
feel the liveliest interest in the attempt to ele- 
vate education, in which Harvard College is 
taking the lead. But I am nevertheless far 
from being satisfied that my own usefulness 
would be enough increased by the change to 
justify rehnquishing my present position. I 
am obliged, therefore, to decline the offer 
which you have made me. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, March 28, 1870. 
I have been very long in writing, but have 
had many trials. First, all my children have 
had the whooping-cough, the two eldest very 
severely, so that for a fortnight I got no good 
sleep, and, second, in the brief intervals of 
their terrific noise, I have had a lecture ^ to 
prepare for the course on " Christianity and 

^ The Historical Basis of Belief. 



CAMBRIDGE AGAIN. 239 

Skepticism/' given in Boston. As I under- 
took to prove to a church full of Congrega- 
tional ministers that the only true basis of belief 
was that of the Roman Catholic Church, a little 
more care than usual was needed in the prep- 
aration of the paper. However, I got through 
without bodily harm. The lecture will be 
published at once, and I will send you a copy. 

Have you heard how Cambridge stands? 
Soon after giving up the Hollis Professorship, 
I received from Mr. Eliot a wholly new offer 
of a historical professorship in the college. 
I had trifled so long with the first, that I de- 
clined this with hardly any consideration. 
Soon after I received a very kind note, asking 
for a personal interview ; so I went to Cam- 
bridge, and we talked it over together. But 
after returning home, I wrote again that there 
was no prospect of a change in my feeling. 
I have been treated with so much kindness 
that my conscience smites me for not going, 
but somehow the change from here to Cam- 
bridge does not on the whole allure me. 
Perhaps we shall both feel that we have made 
mistakes — who can tell ? ^ 

We are lame at college, as Mr. Chace has 

^ " Five or six years later I made another effort to get Mr. 
Diman to Cambridge as Professor of History," President 



/ 



240 MEMOIRS. 

broken his arm. My class has been doing 
finely. Have you seen Blunt's " History of the 
English Reformation " ? He gives a view the 
reverse of Fronde, making very much of Wol- 
sey, and little of Henry. Bunsen's last volume, 
" God in History/' I have also found sugges- 
tive. 

At Commencement, 1870, the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon Mr. 
Diman by his own college. In a speech at 
the dinner following the academic services of 
the morning, Mr. Diman said : — 

Mr. President : I feel that the very best 
acknowledgment that I can make for the honor 
which your too partial kindness has conferred 
upon me to-day, is to endeavor myself, so long 
as I shall have the honor to hold official posi- 
tion here, to come as near as I can to the high 
standard that has already been set. My own 
experience induces me more and more to respect 
the system of training and the general method 
of culture which has prevailed here for years 
which has, as you are well aware, some distinc- 
tive features. And I believe that with all 

Eliot writes. " That time the health of his mother-in-law 
and his own age, seemed to be his reasons for not entertain- 
ing the suggestion. He said, I remember, that a man of fifty- 
was too old to transplant." 



DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF DIVINITY. 241 

that we propose to do for the general extent- 
sion of the University, still the true work, and 
the best work for this college, and for any sim- 
ilar institution, is to work within, and to im- 
prove the courses that we already have. I be- 
lieve that in a high standard of instruction, in 
raising constantly the requirements of admis- 
sion and of graduation, in carrying up from 
year to year our own interior standard, we 
are doing the truest work. And I need not 
say that that work, in the main, devolves 
upon yourself and upon your colleagues of the 
Faculty. I believe that the question as to the 
number of students is a subordinate question. 
The true question is as to the quality of in- 
struction we are giving. Here is the field 
open, with the materials already at hand, with 
the apparatus and endowments that we already 
possess. Here is indefinite opportunity for 
improvement ; and I pledge myself, in return 
for the favor which you have conferred upon 
me, to do what lies in my power to carry out 
and realize this ideal. 

In 1871 Mr. Diman was sounded as to his 
willingness to accept the Presidency of the 
University of Vermont, and that of the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin was offered to him. To both 
of these proposals the following letter refers. 



242 MEMOIRS. . 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, April 19, 1871. 

I am greatly obliged to my Burlington 
friends for their good opinion, but I can con- 
ceive of no circumstances that would lead ms 
to relinquish my present position. So far as I 
have ambition, it is much more for scholarship 
than for position. If I gave up my present 
place from convictions of duty, I should most 
likely be drawn back to the ministry. 

The Wisconsin people have written again, 
urging me not to persist in declining till I 
have made them a visit ; but I can see no good 
reason for going out there, and shall so write 
them. 

Did you see I was chosen by the School 
board to look after music ? 

Mr. Diman was elected to the School board 
in April, 1869, and at the expiration of the 
three years' term of of&ce accepted another 
election, ending his service in 1875. His one 
tune on the flageolet, which he played for 
the entertainment of his children, hardly enti- 
tled him to be considered a musician. Hence 
his amusement at the office assigned him. 

In the summer of this year, Mr. Diman, and 



A DEER HUNT ON THE RAQUETTE. 243 

three of his dearest friends, President J. B. 
Angell, Rev. J. 0, Murray, and Mr. Rowland 
Hazard, spent a few weeks together in the 
Adirondaeks. The eldest sons of two of the 
gentlemen, the " Little Rest " and " Parvus 
lulus" of the company, were with them, and 
the happy days in the woods, where they 
lived on the " fat of the land," — namely, salt 
pork, — Mr. Diman used to say, were often 
referred to, and remained a cherished memory. 
Shortly before the return of the party, the 
"Providence Journal" published from Mr. 
Diman's pen the following account of 

A DEER HUNT ON THE RAQUETTE. 

Raquette River, August 12, 1871. 
Do you remember that charming passage at 
the beginning of " Walton's Angler," in which 
the lover of each sport so ingeniously com- 
mends his own chosen recreation ? I was ever 
inclined to the opinion which Venator there 
expresses, that hunting is a game for princes 
and noble persons. My own earliest impres- 
sions of the chase \^ere derived from that re- 
nowned ballad, which. Sir Philip Sidney tells 
us, always stirred his soul like the sound of a 
trumpet. Once in my life this romantic ideal 
was nearly reaHzed, when I chanced to meet 



244 MEMOIRS. 

the king of Bavaria on the Konigsee, return- 
ing with a gay party from a chamois hunt. 
So when the word went forth, as we rose from 
our luscious breakfast of fried pork and maple 
sugar, that ere the day died we should dine 
royally from the haunch of the red deer, my 
bosom began to glow with strange emotion, 
and visions of mighty hunters, from Nimrod 
down, seemed to beckon me to " spheres of 
new activity." The fresh track of a deer lay 
along the river bank, where we had pitched 
our camp the night before ; and our two dogs, 
Turk and Dandy, already snuf&ng the scent, 
were eager for the start. We had five boats 
along, and it was quickly settled that we should 
watch the ground from Little Wolf Pond to 
the rapids of the Raquette, a mile below our 
camp. At the outset I could but remark how 
notable the difference between hunting on the 
Cheviot Hills and along the Adirondack lakes. 
The stout Earl of Northumberland drove the 
deer with hound and horn, and woke merrily 
the woodland echoes as he swept through the 
forest. We, on the contrary, were to wait in 
silence till the deer, seeking a refuge in the 
water from the dogs, should become an easy 
prey. Our only promise of music was from 
the loons, which, from a safe distance, sur- 



A DEER HUNT ON THE RAQUETTE. 245 

veyed the impending havoc, much like the 
grim prophets o£ Israel in Kaulbach's cartoon 
of the Destruction of Jerusalem. But sport, 
thought I, is sport, however pursued, and one 
must not make ado because it is not carried 
on nowadays as when the gallant Fitz-James 
urged his panting courser over the Brigg of 
Turk. The post of observation assigned me 
was a low-lying island, on the west side of 
Raquette Pond. It was less than a mile away, 
and before many minutes our swift boat, glid- 
ing 

" Through files of flags that gleamed like bayonets, 
Through gold moth-haunted beds of pickerel flower, 
Through scented banks of lilies white and gold," 

noiselessly buried its bow in the soft bank. 

Landing from a. Saranac skiff is, like matri- 
mony, a work not to be lightly nor unadvisedly 
attempted, more especially if one carries in his 
hand a loaded Ballard rifle. Proceeding with 
the circumspection which the situation seemed 
to demand, I had scarce tasted the " sober 
certainty " of landing bliss when T missed my 
guide. The next moment, raising my eyes, I 
spied him near the top of a young birch, al- 
most the only growth of the little island, ex- 
cept a dense thicket of tall underbrush. " Is 
that your place for watching ? " I inquired, 



246 MEMOIRS. 

witli ingenuous simplicity. '^ A man could 
see a thunderin' lot o' deer down there," was 
the prompt and encouraging response. A 
single glance at the smooth bark of the tree 
satisfied me that my part in the first " swelling 
act" of the day's "imperial theme" would be 
somewhat subordinate. Consoling myself, 
however, with the reflection that at all events 
I should be in at the death, I set about mak- 
ing the best of circumstances. The boat's 
bow furnished a convenient seat, and if I 
could not get the first sight of the flying deer, 
I could watch the blue light on the distant 
hills, or trace the windings of the opposite 
shore, where the dark green of the fir, the 
spruce, and the hemlock was drawn out in a 
long reflection over the glassy water. After 
all, I thought, I have the advantage over him 
who chased the stag, that 

" Deep his midnight lair had made 
In lone Glenartney's hazel shade." 

That hapless huntsman, after a desperately 
hard ride over a rough mountain road, lost 
his quarry and his good steed both; while I, 
after gliding through lily-pads as serenely as 
a Venetian senator along the Grand Canal, 
have only to wait till the deer comes to me. I 
could but reflect with enthusiasm on the pro- 



A DEER HUNT ON THE RAQUETTE. 247 

gress of the age. What did it matter that 
the age of chivaby was gone, so long as the 
age of breech-loading rifles had come ? Why 
look mournfully upon the past ? 

The wide scope for reflection thus opened 
to an active mind had a natural tendency to 
make the hours go barefoot, tiU a burning 
sensation, as of one of the early martyrs roast- 
ing before a slow fire, called my attention to 
the fact that the morning breeze, which when 
we first landed had gently rippled the lake 
and rustled the tall rushes, had died wholly 
away, and the pitiless August sun was empty- 
ing his blazing urn upon my unprotected 
back. After whistling vainly for a breeze, I 
became convinced that a new departure was 
no less expedient for me than for the Demo- 
cratic party ; so, imitating the famous example 
of McClellan before Richmond, I discreetly 
changed my base, which by this time had got 
to be uncomfortably hot. The only covert 
was the thicket in the middle of the island, 
and thither, to borrow the language of the 
illustrious founder of Rhode Island, " I steered 
my course." But, as ill luck would have it, 
the refuge thus opportunely furnished had 
been preempted by earlier settlers, who, ap- 
parently not relishing my rash invasion of 
their 



248 MEMOIRS. 

" Ancient, solitary reign," 

swarmed about me in countless numbers, pre- 
senting such an array of bills as almost drove 
me to the conclusion that, like another Rip 
Van Winkle, I had overslept six months, and 
stumbled unwittingly upon the first day of 
January. Nothing daunted, however, I drew 
on my buckskin gauntlets, and resolved that 
the stump on which I sat 

« Should fly 
From its firm base as soon as I," 

Saul slew his thousands, David his tens of 
thousands ; far be it from a modest man to 
boast achievements surpassing the leaders of 
Israel. The historic muse shall never, with 
my consent, record the slaughter of that day. 
But even as a concert of the* Philharmonic 
Society becomes wearisome at last, so does 
slaying mosquitoes. And, however exciting, 
it was sport I could have in abundance nearer 
home. So having been in action precisely the 
same length of time as my uncle Toby at the 
siege of Namur, where he received his famous 
wound, I relaxed my active hostilities, and 
sought peace of mind in the pages of Harper's 
Monthly, a number of which, by advice of a 
more experienced sportsman, I had brought 
along. The article that first attracted my at- 



A DEER HUNT ON THE RAQUETTE. 249 

tention was one giving an interesting account 
of the system of meteorological observations 
by which we are daily warned of the approach 
of storms, and the mariner on the Atlantic 
bidden to beware of an enemy creeping up the 
slopes of the Rocky Mountains. I was soon 
absorbed in a graphic account of the great 
storm which wrecked the " Royal Charter," 
the course of which was so admirably traced 
by Admiral Fitzroy. I forgot mosquitoes 
and deer alike. Here, I thought with rapture, 
is something to be proud of. What are the 
victories of Worth and Sedan, compared with 
those of science ? My imagination gratefully 
disported in this new field. What benefactors 
of the race were these tireless witnesses of the 
phenomena of the air, whose observations, 
winged to Washington by the "viewless 
coursers " of lightning, were there condensed 
and again sent forth by the same fleet messen- 
gers for the benefit of mankind ! Thought- 
less man that I was, that I did not bring with 
me to these woods a Nigretti and Zambra 
thermometer, a Wild's self -registering barome- 
ter, a Hough's meteorograph, a barograph and 
thermograph by Beck, of London, an anemo- 
scope, an anemometer, and a copy of '^ Bu- 
chan's Handbook of Meteorology" ! Kindling 



250 MEMOIRS. 

with emotion at the thought of being thus 
permitted to add my humble mite to the great 
sum of human knowledge, I involuntarily 
lifted my eyes to see what grand atmospheric 
disturbances might be at that moment prepar- 
ing, when, to my amazement, I saw that the 
birch- tree no longer had a tenant. The sun 
was seeking his western bed, and, not relishing 
the notion of being left alone on an island 
while my companions were perhaps gathering 
for high festival, I made at once for the shore. 
Then in a moment I descried the boat coming 
across the lake. In it was one of the dogs, 
lame and panting from his fruitless chase. 
All hope of seeing any deer, so far as we were 
concerned, was up, and there was nothing left 
but to row back to camp and see what luck 
had befallen the rest. One after another came 
in with the same story. Not one had so much 
as got sight of a deer except Little Rest, and 
whether indeed it was a young doe he saw or 
only a huge mosquito that boldly bestrode 
the patent sight of his Lewis rifle, I will 
not undertake to say. Charity believeth all 
thino-s. 

As we gathered once more that night about 
our festive board, and studied our somewhat 
familiar bill of fare, we were unanimous on all 



A DEER HUNT ON THE RAQUETTE. 251 

points save one, whether the scalding beverage 
presented to us by our attendant Ganymedes 
was distilled from the cheering herb of the 
Flowery Kingdom^ or from the more aromatic 
berry of Java. By general consent the su- 
preme honors of the day were accorded to the 
Parvus lulus of the company, whose resonant 
smiles were echoed from Peter's Rock, as he 
came back to camp, bearing a magnificent 
specimen of the Pilmelodus cattus, a rare 
fresh-water fish of the family Siluridse, found 
only in the rivers of America, and not by any 
means to be confounded with its salt-water 
cousin, a malacopterygious fish, so common on 
the English coast. The American variety is 
known to boys under the vulgar name of the 
bull-pout. 

Angling has been commended by Walton 
as the contemplative man's recreation, but for 
contemplation commend me to deer-hunting 
in the Adirondacks. A penitent soul, who 
craved a calm season to review the sins of his 
youth, could find no such ample opportunity 
as in the exhilarating exercise of sitting in 
silence for six or eight hours on the banks of 
Raquette River, or the shore of Big Wolf 
Pond, in humble expectation of getting sight 
of a deer " there, or thereabouts." The mel- 



252 MEMOIRS. 

ancholy Jaques, who was wont so much to 
mark the poor sequestered stag, 

" That from the hunter's aim had ta'en a hurt," 

would scarce have found occasion here for his 
" thousand similes." Indeed, had I in hand 
some literary venture, demanding for its per- 
fect finish a little leisure, say some such trifle 
as Gibbon's Decline and Fall, or Grote's His- 
tory of Greece, I know not where I could dis- 
pose myself with such advantage as in this 
meditative work of hunting deer after the 
manner practiced in the Adirondack solitudes. 
In a letter to the historian Tacitus, that ac- 
complished country gentleman, the younger 
Pliny declares that Minerva coursed with 
Diana on the hills ; but for all that it fell to 
my lot to see, the Goddess of Wisdom might 
have the Saranac lakes wholly to herself. The 
exercise is strictly of an intellectual sort. 

Yet were it ungrateful to leave the woods 
without confessing their quiet benediction. 
The cherished friendships of early youth were 
strengthened with new ties, and the burden 
of the unknown future was lightened with 
sympathy of hearts long tried and closely 
linked. Though we got no deer, we felt that 
we had not environed ourselves with the sweet 



A DEER HUNT ON THE RAQUETTE. 253 

surprises of nature in vain. In the midst of 
rollicking mirth, her deeper spiritual lessons 
were not wholly missed. 

*' For who can tell what sudden privacies 
Were sought and found, amid the hue and cry 
Of scholars furloughed from their tasks, and let 
Into this Oreads' fended paradise." 



CHAPTER XII. 

1871-1875. AET. 40-44. 

Letters to President Angell, — New Lectures. — Articles. — 
Offer from Princeton. — College Work. — Arlington Street 
Cbnrch, Boston. — Normal School. — Private Classes. — 
Plan defined. — Renaissance Lectnres. — Manner of Lec- 
turing. — Analysis of Lecture. — Outline of Succeeding 
Courses of Lectures. — Letters to President Anjrell. — The 
Thirty Years' War. — Gustaviis Adolphus. — Simultane- 
ous Courses. — Evening Classes. — The Friends' School. 

Refreshed by the suminer's rest, Mr. Di- 
man returned to his work in the autumn with 
new ardor. As early as October he records 
two articles written, and new lectures. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, October 25, 1871. 
I have a fine Senior class, and have much 
enjoyed my work. Besides rewriting my 
lectures, I have sent a long article to the " New 
Eno'lander." ^ In the October number of the 
" Church Re\4ew " I have an article on Enghsh 

1 *' The Roman Element in Modern Ci^'ilization," New 
Englander, January, 1872. 



THE ARLINGTON STREET CHURCH. 255 

schools.^ Much to my surprise, I received 
this fall a call to Princeton, but promptly de- 
clined it with thanks. 



Providence, January 20, 1872. 

We have finished up our college work this 
week. On the whole, I have every reason to 
feel satisfied with what my class has done. 
The examination was both written and oral 
for the whole class, which was a new thing. 
But somehow I have felt less interested than 
usual in college work. 

One thing that has tended to divert my 
thoughts, perhaps, is the fact that I have been 
preaching a good deal this winter, and under 
circumstances a little peculiar. Without the 
least intention or desire on my own part, I 
have awakened a good deal of enthusiasm in 
two Unitarian parishes, and, entre nous, could, 
I presume, have a call from either, if I would 
consent to act with the Unitarian denomina- 
tion. I have had to-day two long letters 
from Boston, one official. Of course, I can do 
no such thing, but the talk about it diverts 
my thoughts somewhat from college work. 

^ "English School Life," American Quarterly Church Re- 
view, October, 1871. 



256 MEMOIRS. 

What makes the matter more serious is the 
fact that the pressure comes from an earnest 
class, who wish to set their faces against the 
radicalism of the denomination. I often think 
that if I am to devote myself to an academic 
career, I had better give up the ministry alto- 
gether. One cannot ride two horses with suc- 
cess. Yet I have never been able quite to 
bring myself to this resolve. 

The official letter referred to was from the 
committee of the Arlington Street Church, 
Boston, very courteously asking Mr. Diman if 
he considered himself a Unitarian, and if he 
would consent to be a candidate for their pul- 
pit, with the understanding that the society is 
Unitarian, and that the pastor is to work heart- 
ily for the spread of Unitarian Christianity. 
Mr. Diman sent the following reply : — 

TO EDWARD WIGGLESWORTH AND BUCKMINSTER 
BROWN, COMMITTEE. 

Providence, January 21, 1872. 
It gives me much pleasure to answer your 
inquiries. My denominational position is not 
easily defined in a few words, as I am not a 
stickler for any formal statement of faith. I 
regard Christianity as emphatically a Life. 



NORMAL SCHOOL LECTURES. 257 

But while I often preach, and with great satis- 
faction to myself, in Unitarian pulpits, and 
fully recognize the service which the denom- 
ination has rendered in emphasizing aspects 
of divine truth too much overlooked, yet I 
cannot call myself in any distinctive sense a 
Unitarian, nor could I work heartily for the 
spread of Unitarian Christianity. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, January 20, 1872. 

The lectures at the Normal School are very 
simple affairs, though I have a large audience. 
As both my History classes are now under 
way, my time is pretty well occupied. I am 
going in great detail over the period of the 
Eenaissance. 

The State Normal School was opened in 
Providence, September 6, 1871. Mr. Diman 
was present, and took part in the opening 
exercises. During the following winter he 
gave a course of twelve lectures, on Saturday 
mornings, before the school, on Mediaeval 
History. " This course was prepared with 
special reference to the needs of teachers," 
writes Mr. J. C. Greenough, then principal of 
the school. " The lectures were enthusiast!- 



258 MEMOIRS. 

cally received, botli by the pupils and by the 
large number of teachers and others, who were 
in attendance. Every subject was so clearly 
analyzed, and so vividly presented, that the 
written exercises of the pupils, which were 
prepared after each lecture, were usually full 
and complete outhnes." 

Each year, to the end of Mr. Diman's life, 
with only two exceptions, he prepared a course 
of lectures for the school. In 1874 he gave 
lectures on the Renaissance, followed the next 
year by lectures on Art. A course on the 
Reformation, in 1876, was succeeded by one on 
Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern Architecture, 
in 1877. The year following he gave no lec- 
tures, and in 1879 a course on American His- 
tory, especially the growth and alienation of 
the Colonies. In 1880, the last course on the 
Constitutional History of the United States 
was given. 

" Some have supposed that these lectures 
were simply repetitions of those given in Brown 
University," writes Mr. Greenough. " This is 
a mistake. However strongly I might urge 
him, he always declined, unless he had time to 
make the special preparation which he deemed 
necessary. The work which he here so admi- 
rably accomplished was ever the ripest results 
of his latest studies." 



PRIVATE CLASSES. 259 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, February 26, 1872. 

I have been busy this winter, but more in 
preparation for my private classes than for my 
college work. I have been quite thoroughly 
into the period of the Renaissance, and as some 
of the topics were new, I have been obliged 
to read up. Besides the old standard authori- 
ties, I have found two new books, the titles 
of which may be useful to you, if you have 
them not already in your library : " Die Cul- 
tur der Renaissance in Italien," by J. Burck- 
hardt, a very thorough book ; and " Italie et 
Renaissance," by J. Zeller, devoted especially 
to the political aspects of the period. I have 
been much interested in the subject. 

The Friday Club met here a week ago, and 
President Caswell read a very interesting paper 
on the Mount Cenis Tunnel. Have you seen 
Whymper's " Scrambles in the Alps," a very 
fascinating book ? 

I have no local news, which, indeed, I sel- 
dom fill my ears with. 

The private classes to which the last letters 
refer, and for which Mr. Diman did so much 
and such admirable work, began in the winter 
of 1870-71. 



260 MEMOIRS. 

Mrs. Amasa M. Eaton, then Miss Bunnell, 
writes : " The idea of arranging a class in 
History was suggested to me during a visit 
that I made in Portsmouth, N. H., in the win- 
ter of 1869-70. Mr. James De Normandie, 
then minister of the Unitarian church at 
Portsmouth, was delivering a course of lec- 
tures to the young ladies of his parish. I was 
very much interested, and determined to see 
if we could not have a similar course for the 
girls who had been at Professor Lincoln's 
school with me. 

" Upon my return I went to see Professor 
Lincoln, and asked him if he would like to 
lecture to a bevy of his old scholars. He re- 
plied, ' It would be pleasant for me to do so, 
but I don't think I am the right person.' He 
advised me to see Professor Diman ; I did so, 
and told him the whole story. The idea was 
new to him. I wish I could recall his words 
more vividly. Now I have only the impres- 
sion of a very satisfactory visit, and the prom- 
ise from him to think the matter over." 

Just before Christmas the lectures began, 
and continued once a week, to the end of 
April. About twenty young ladies came to the 
pleasant Angell Street house, Tuesday morn- 
ings at eleven o'clock. The members of this 



PLAN OF LECTURES. 261 

class were almost all schoolmates, but lately out 
of school. In January, 1871, Mrs. William 
Goddard arranged the Friday morning class, 
which met in her parlors. It was to this 
class that Mr. Diman delivered the last lecture 
of his life. Still later, in 1873, a third class 
was formed by Mrs. Rowland Hazard, for her 
daughter and the girls of her age, just finish- 
ing their school studies. This was a Tuesday 
morning class, which met at Mr. Diman's 
house at one o'clock. 

The lectures for these classes, each of which 
had about twenty members, were at first much 
the same as the college course. They began 
with the fall of Rome, and extended to the fall 
of Constantinople, for the first winter. But 
in a weekly lecture, and in some sense a more 
popular lecture, Mr. Diman dwelt more fully 
on picturesque details, and the essential facts 
were grouped together, and presented in the 
most simple statement possible. 

In the first lecture he defined his plan : — 
" There are two ways of studying History : 
to take facts, as Guizot does, or to take indi- 
viduals as types of the times, as Carlyle does. 
We shall try to combine these two methods 
in our winter's study. History is the only 
medium by which we can interpret the present. 



262 MEMOIRS. 

It is alive ; we must make it personal, and use 
the imagination in studying it. 

^' The time has gone by for speaking with 
contempt or indifference of what used to be 
termed the Dark Ages. The researches of 
Guizot, of Eichhorn, of Lehuerou, of Yon Rau- 
mer, have thrown a blaze of light upon a 
period that once only wearied and perplexed 
the student ; and it is now universally conceded 
that the only profound interpretation of the 
great social and religious movements of later 
centuries must be sought in an analysis of 
the institutions and tendencies of the Middle 
Age. There are the germs of the great prob- 
lems that European society is still laboring to 
solve." 

The lectures begun in such a philosophic 
spirit followed the college course until the 
Renaissance, when the ladies had the ad- 
vantage of special lectures on Architecture, 
and on several of the great artists. " True 
art is a form of language, an expression of 
the higher workings of human consciousness." 
Leonardo, Raphael, and Diirer had each a 
full lecture given to them. For Leonardo, 
Mr. Diman had great admiration. " In him 
we see the culmination and perfection of art. 



LECTURES ON ART. 263 

In an age pervaded by pagan tendencies, his 
art is still truthful and pure." Not only did 
he admire the Last Supper, but talked so elo- 
quently of the Mona Lisa, " the suggestion of 
a woman/' as he called her, as to inform th?.t 
mysterious picture with new powers. Her 
haunting smile appealed to him more than 
all the beauties of Raphael. Even the Sis- 
tine Madonna, which in earlier life he had 
declared realized all his ideal in art, he did 
not grow enthusiastic over, but rather dwelt 
on the portrait of Julius II., the fighting 
Pope, as a wonderful masterpiece. From this 
it will be seen that his sympathies in art were 
all on the intellectual side ; that he cared not 
so much for beauty of color and form as for 
beauty and subtilty of expression. Hence he 
talked of Albrecht Diirer with great delight, 
dwelling especially on two plates, the Melan- 
cholia, and the Knight and Death. 

This is the bare outline of the first winter's 
course ; but who can describe the charm of Mr. 
Diman's manner, the wit of his sallies, and the 
convincing eloquence of his argument? It 
was in these informal lectures to the ladies he 
knew, many of them dear friends, that he was 
at his best. In Mrs. Goddard's parlor were 
beautiful pictures, which he enjoyed ; and in 



264 MEMOIRS. 

his own room, lined with the books he knew 
so well, he was even more thoroughly at ease. 
The high courtesy which distinguished him 
never let him forget that he was the host, and 
the ladies who came to him were not only to 
be instructed, but also entertained. 

He used to come into the parlor, as the 
hour struck, generally with a couple of vol- 
umes under his arm, from which to read a 
few paragraphs in the course of the lecture. 
He bowed slightly and gravely to his near 
neighbors, and smiled, that smile in which the 
eyes had more part than the lips. Then, with 
a glance that took in the whole room, he 
seated himself in a large leather chair, and 
crossing his knees, began immediately. A few 
sentences gave a masterly resume of the last 
lecture, and the new subject stood on a firm 
foundation. In his hand, or on the table be- 
side him, Mr. Diman had a thin, green, covered 
blank book, of essay -paper si^e, containing 
the analysis of the lecture. Often he did not 
refer to it at all, so fully was the subject in 
mind, and so readily did the names and dates 
spring to his lips. When people wondered 
how he lectured so easily, they little knew the 
care and accuracy with which his notes were 
prepared. 



ANALYSIS OF LECTURE. 265 

Here is the analysis of the fifteenth lecture 
in the second year's course^ dated February 
27, 1872 : — 

Analogy between German Revival of Art and Revival 
of Letters. 
German art, serious and spiritual. 
How affected by life and architecture. 
German Mediaeval Art (Byzantine). 

Wilhelm and Stephan of Cologne, 1380. 
Revival of German Art began with the 15th century, at 
Bruges. 
John, Hubert, and Margaret Van Eyck. 
John reported inventor of oil painting. 
The Giotto of the North. 

For Margaret, see " Arts of the Middle Ages," 

p. 300. 
For Characteristics of the Flemish School, see 
Taine, " Art in the Netherlands," p. 105. 
Influence of the Flemish School on German Artists. 
At Augsburg, Holbein. 
At Nuremberg, Albrecht Diirer. 
Albrecht Durer, born 1471, died 1528. 
Characteristics of life at Nuremberg. 
His marriage. 
His journey to Venice. 
His connection with Raphael. 

See " Albrecht Durer," by Mrs. Heaton, p. 98. 
His characteristics as an artist. 

a. The peculiarities of the Northern or Gothic mind. 

b. Tendency to the subtle and the supersensuous. 

c. Love of the grotesque and fantastic. 

d. As compared with the Italians,' deficient in 

grace. 



266 MEMOIRS. 

6. Yet thought, as lying further from the surface, 
requires more imaginative effort to grasp. 

f. His freedom from tradition, and sympathy with 
the Keformation. 

Diirer and Melancthon. 

His picture of the Twelve Apostles. 

Called by Schlegel the " Shakespeare of Artists." 

This analysis is shorter than many, and less 
full, but has been chosen as an illustration of 
Mr. Diman's method on account of its com- 
pleteness in itself. As the lectures were in a 
course, though each one made an integral 
part, many derived much of their interest 
from what went before and came after. How 
this analysis was filled up in the delivery, 
those who heard the lecture will remember. 
How vividly the life in picturesque Nurem- 
berg was described, what witty thrusts were 
made at Diirer's termagant wife, and with 
what enthusiasm his work was dwelt upon ! 

Mr. Diman had a fashion of stating things 
in a very startling way, occasionally, and would 
look up with a merry smile to those of the 
class of whose appreciation he was sure. 
How his eyes twinkled as he said : " When 
the Crusaders went to Palestine they went in a 
fury of religious zeal. The two most valu- 
able things they brought back were playing- 
cards and sugar ! " But then followed a long 



LECTURES ON FRENCH HISTORY. 267 

and interesting explanation of the service of 
playing-cards in developing the arts of en- 
graving and printing, and of the revolution 
in all culinary methods which the introduction 
of sugar created. 

The lectures on the Renaissance were fol- 
lowed, the next winter, by a course on A Cen- 
tury of French History, the period from Fran- 
cis I. to Louis Xiy. The development of ab- 
solute power, dating from Henry IV.'s time, 
and the antagonistic development of a spirit 
of free inquiry from Montaigne and Descart, 
was expounded in lectures on Catherine de 
Medicis, Montaigne, Bossuet, and Richelieu. 
The ladies were shown how " absolutism 
paved the way to democracy, and free inquiry, 
at first not irreligious, was pushed by the an- 
tagonism of the Church into infidelity." 

The next year the French Revolution was 
shown to be the logical outgrowth of this state 
of affairs. 

That Mr. Diman turned to his ladies' classes 
with pleasure, as contrasting with his more 
official duties, the following letters indicate. 
Many of the ladies took notes, and not a few 
submitted them to his inspection, but the 
work was, of course, purely voluntary. 



268 MEMOIRS. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, January 10, 1874. 

Our examination closed this week. I 
have done, on the whole, a satisfactory term's 
work, with a class diligent rather than hril- 
liant. But it is a great comfort to feel that 
you have one or two men on whom you have 
made a living impression. Much college 
teaching becomes from necessity sadly me- 
chanical. 

My time is very much taken up with the 
reading required for my outside classes. We 
are going over the French Revolution, and I 
want to seize the opportunity to make as thor- 
ough a study of it as I can. I have just 
finished Morley's Rousseau, which gives a 
good outline of his political writings. There 
is also a good analysis of the Social Contract 
in Janet. But the subject is overwhelming. 

Providence, January 30, 1875. 
I have been up to my eyes all winter in 
the Thirty Years' War, which I have been 
expounding to the ladies. I manage to kill 
two birds with one stone by selecting the 
subject which I know least about. It is a 
tempting theme for an historian, as we have 



THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR, 269 

in Englisli absolutely nothing about it of any 
value, save the meagre outline in " Epochs of 
History." There are books, but all second- 
rate/ 

These lectures on the Thirty Years' War 
were afterwards elaborated into the course so 
successfully given in Baltimore, as will appear 
in a subsequent chapter. They were prepared 
with the greatest care, and listened to with 
delight. 

Lecture Y., delivered January 5, 1875, has 
the following complete analysis : — ■ 

New phase of the war. 

Swedish army lands June 24, 1630. 
Gustavus Adolphus, born December 19, 1594. 

His personal appearance. Vehscj 1-363. 

His winning manners. 

His careful education. 

His marriage. Early love. 

His administration. 

His three wars. 

His diplomacy. 
His military genius. (Napoleon.) 

Restores ancient discipline. 

Reforms art of war. 

1. Reduces size of regiments. 

2. Lengthens the musket. 

3. Shortens the pike. 

1 Written in 1875. Several Histories have been published 
since then. 



270 MEMOIRS. 

4. Reduces the number of files from ten to six. 

5. Changes the artillery charge. 

6. Introduces light artillery. 
His leather guns. 

His humane theory of war. 
Motives of his invasion of Germany. 

His profound religious spirit. 

His cause one with German Protestants. 

His leave-taking. 

Presentiment of death. 

A unique character. 
His position on landing. 

Attitude of Saxony and Brandenburg. 

Alliance with France, January, 1631. 

Treaty of Biirwalde. 
His military policy. 

Convention of Leipzig, February, 1631. 

Fall of Magdeburg, May, 1631. 

All neutrality ended. 
Battle of Breitenfeld, September 17, 1631. 

" The Lord turned Lutheran." 
Gustavus occupies South Germany. 

His demands at Mayence. Vehse, 1-170. 

Suspected by the princes. 

Supported by the cities. 
Gustavus enters Bavaria, March, 1632. 

Crosses the Lech, April 15. 

Tilly killed. 
Enters Augsbnrg, April 18, Munich, May 17. 

Elector of Saxony enters Prague. 
Retrospect of the campaign. 

All Germany, except Austria, at his feet. 

The first Tuesday class, and the Friday 



EVENING CLASSES. 271 

class, followed the same course of lectures, 
but the second Tuesday class, having begun 
two years later, studied a different subject. 
Thus, while the first Tuesday class heard the 
Thirty Years' War lectures, the second class 
had lectures on the Renaissance. There was 
only an hour between the delivery of the two 
lectures, involving so complete a change of 
thought. Refreshed by a cup of coffee, Mr. 
Diman came to his class, and made them live 
for the hour in the times he dwelt upon. His 
facility in turning from one subject to an- 
other was not the least remarkable thing 
about him. 

As the years went on, the two Tuesday 
classes were thinned by the marriage and re- 
moval of their members, and for the last year 
or two were united in one. The final course 
of lectures was the same to both Tuesday and 
Friday classes, and only ended with Mr. Di- 
man's life. Thus for ten years a company of 
ladies sat under his teaching.^ To many of 
them it was the best part of their education. 

At the end of each lecture, Mr. Diman rec- 
ommended books upon the subject under con- 
sideration, — Guizot, Carlyie, Dante, Froissart ; 
the list fills pages. But his own careful habits 

^ See note at the end of the chapter. 



272 MEMOIRS. 

of reading, dating from his college days, and 
fostered throughout his life, were made of 
service to his pupils. " Such a chapter of 
Carlyle, or such a canto of the Inferno, bears 
on the point we are studying," he would say. 

Beside the classes of ladies, and the courses 
of lectures at the Normal School on Saturday 
mornings, for the last few years of his life, 
Mr. Diman had evening classes. One, which 
counted some eighty ladies and gentlemen as 
members, heard part of the course here out- 
lined. In the winter of 1877-78, a course of 
ten lectures on Mediseval History was deliv- 
ered to this class, followed the next season by 
ten lectures on the Renaissance. In the fall 
of 1879, a smaller class was formed, which in- 
cluded some of the younger college professors 
and their wives, and other ladies and gentle- 
men. To this class Mr. Diman gave a course 
of ten lectures on the Thirty Years' War, 
having the subject freshly in mind from his 
recent preparation for the Baltimore lectures. 
The following winter, a course on English 
History was interrupted by his death. 

Beside these classes, Mr. Diman lectured at 
the " Friends' School." In 1868, and the two 
following winters, he gave occasional lectures 
on various subjects. " But in 1871," writes 



LECTURES AT THE FRIENDS' SCHOOL. 273 

Miss B. T. Wing, long a teacher in the school, 
" he began a course of historical lectures, 
which he continued every succeeding winter 
during his life. His habit was to select some 
period of history, and to give what he used 
to term ' familiar talks ' upon the events, 
political and social, the prominent characters, 
the discoveries and inventions connected with 
it. The Rise of Christianity, Monastic Life, 
The Invasion of the Barbarians, The Fall of 
Rome, The Eastern Empire, The Renaissance, 
The Reformation, with wonderful character 
sketches of Luther, Loyola, Calvin, and the 
Eno^lish reformers — these were some of his 
subjects. In one of the later courses Mr. 
Diman brought the history of England down 
to the time of George III., and connected with 
it the history of the American Revolution. 

"The lectures were given on alternate Fri- 
day evenings from October to the first of May. 
He always appeared to take great pleasure in 
talking to the scholars, and often expressed 
his delight at the interest and attejition shown 
by the younger scholars. He evidently en- 
joyed adapting his talks especially to them, in 
a way particularly charming to his older listen- 
ers. Never before, I believe, was the story of 
human progress so charmingly told." 



274 MEMOIRS. 

" In his last lecture/' writes Mr. Augustine 
Jones, the principal of the school, " he said 
with unusual tenderness, ' I visit no place 
where I receive so much pleasure as I do in 
coming here and looking into your young, 
bright faces.' How little we dreamed it was 
his last mortal look ! It seemed as though the 
very foundations of the institution tottered as 
he was taken out of our lives." 

Subjects of lectures by Mr. Diman, delivered to a 
class of ladies at Mrs. William Goddard's house : — 

1st Course. January, 1871, to April, 1871. The Mid- 
dle Age. From the Fall of the Western Empire, 476, to 
the Fall of Constantinople, 1453. 

2d Course. January, 1872, to May, 1872. The Ee- 
naissance, and the Reformation. 

3d Course. December, 1872, to April, 1873. The 
Renaissance in France, and the Religious and Civil 
Wars. 

4th Course. December, 1873, to April, 1874. Decline 
of Monarchy in France, and the French Revolution. 

5th Course. December, 1874, to April, 1875. The 
Thirty Years' War. 

6th Course. December, 1875, to April, 1876. Eng- 
lish History. Illustrated by English literature. 

7th Course. December, 1877, to April, 1878. Eng- 
lish History after the Restoration. 

8th Course. January, 1879, to May, 1879. English 
History in connection with the American Revolution, 
and the Administration of England under the younger 
Fox and Pitt. 



SUBJECTS OF LECTURES. 275 

9th Course. April 9, 1880, to May 14, 1880. Six lec- 
tures, — an Abridgment of the Lowell Institute Course, 
— delivered in February and March, 1880, on the The- 
istic Argument as affected by Recent Theories. 

10th Course. December 17, 1880, to January 28, 
1881. Modern Statesmen. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

1872-1876. AET. 41-45. 

Letters to President Angell. — Preaching in Hartford. — 
"George Fox Digg'd out of his Burrowes." — Election to 
Massachusetts Historical Society. — Europe. — Letters to 
his Wife. — Letters to President Angell. — Offer of a 
Parish in Boston. — Letter to Dr. Buf us Ellis. — Friday 
Evening Club. — Recollections by Dr. S. L. Caldwell. 

In order to secure a more comprehensive 
view of the work done for the History classes, 
and the other lectures outside regular college 
work^ we have anticipated a little, and must 
now return to the letters. 

The following letter shows Mr. Diman's 
interest in contemporary art, of which his 
study of the great masters made him an ad- 
mirable critic. , 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, May 7, 1872. 

I had a delightful visit with Murray last 

week, and while I am still full of it, will write 

to you. He told me he was soon to make you 

a visit. It almost made me sigh to be a 



PICTURES. 277 

Presbyterian, that I also might be a delegate 
to the General Assembly. 

In New York I saw the first pictures I have 
seen for many a day, — among them the 
" Parthenon/' by Church, the " Slave Ship/' 
by Turner, which you remember Ruskin pro- 
nounces the finest rendering of water ever 
made, and the " Good Sister " of Bougereau, 
worth, in my opinion, a dozen of the best Ma- 
donnas ever painted. I had long been famil- 
iar with it through photographs, and was de- 
lighted beyond measure to see the original. 

As to the question you put me, how to 
prevent our Universities from being overrun 
with half - educated men, I can propose no 
remedy, save to do everything possible to ele- 
vate the proper academic department. If you 
can succeed in turning out every year a few 
really educated young men, by degrees the 
rest will come, perhaps, to note their own de- 
ficiencies. 

I am quite busy just now, as I have the 
Seniors twice a day, the labors of Professor 
Chace being ended. I am teaching at the same 
time the Constitution, and International law. 

What a clumsily written book is that of ! 

What is the benefit of studying Greek, if one 
writes in such a loosely jointed style ? 



278 MEMOIRS. 

If Murray had been willing to go with me, 
I should be looking towards Europe ; as it is, 
I put it off a while. 

In the summer Mr. Diman preached several 
successive Sundays at the Park Congregational 
church in Hartford, during the vacation of 
the pastor. He stayed on these occasions with 
Mr. William H. Post. " He never seemed 
like a stranger in my house," writes Mr. Post, 
" but rather as a member of the family, and 
the children anticipated his coming, and were 
delighted with the stories he would tell them, 
while they gathered at his side, or sat on his 
knee." 

President Angell was now in Ann Arbor, 
Michigan, just beginning his successful admin- 
istration of the University. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, September 11, 1872. 

Several of the more important points touched 
upon in your Eeport, we have discussed to- 
gether, especially the connection between the 
University and the high schools. This is a 
wholly unique feature in your system, and is, 
it seems to me, a great step in the right di- 
rection. But what I like most of all in your 



GEORGE FOX. 279 

Report is its constant looking forward " to 
the thinsrs that are before." No school of 
learnino^ can flourish that is content to rest 
on its oars. I hope we shall follow your ex- 
ample in requiring French for admission. 

A little later, Mr. Diman writes : — 

"So far as the diminution of Freshmen is 
due to more rigorous requirements, it is a 
matter that will soon right itself. I wish ours 
might be reduced the same way." 

This autumn the fifth volume of the " Pub- 
lications of the Narragansett Club " appeared, 
edited by Mr. Diman. " George Fox Digg'd 
out of his Burr owes " is a much longer work 
than " John Cotton's Answer to Roger Wil- 
liams/' filling a volume of over fiYe hundred 
pages. Instead of arranging his comments 
on the text in notes, as before, Mr. Diman 
prepared a careful introduction of over fifty 
pages, citing all his authorities, arraying op- 
posing arguments, and disentangling conflict- 
ing testimony. For clearness and grace of 
style, this essay equals any Mr. Diman ever 
wrote. 

This critical study of the " fourteen Pro- 
posalls, made this last summer, 1672 (so 



280 MEMOIRS. 

caird), unto G, Fox,'' and " Of Some scores 
of G, F, his Simple lame Answers/' left Mr. 
Diman a warm defender of the Quakers. Six 
years later he wrote : — 

" Let us never forget the inestimable ser- 
vice rendered, in an age of dry dogmatic con- 
troversy, by the religious body which revived, 
in modern times, the almost forgotten doc- 
trine of the Holy Ghost. It is said that the 
Society of Friends is gradually passing away. 
They can ill be spared from the household of 
faith. But, should they become extinct as a 
sect, it will be only because their mission is 
accomplished. The great cardinal truth of 
the Christian system to which they called at- 
tention, which kindled the enthusiasm of Fox, 
and moved the eloquence of Barclay, must 
appeal to human souls with increased power, 
as the years roll on, or Christianity itself will 
become as sounding brass and tinkling cym- 
bal." 1 

At the February meeting of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, Mr. Diman was elected 
a corresponding member of that body. In 
acknowledging the election, under date of 

^ Orations and Essays, p. 387 : " The Baptism of the 
Holy Ghost." 



SAILS FOR EUROPE. 281 

February 20, Mr. Diman says he is deeply 
sensible of the honor conferred upon him, and 
always spoke with pleasure of his connection 
with the Society. The date of this election 
is one of the very few which he gave himself, 
when asked for such data for a biographical 
dictionary. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, February 5, 1873 
As to my own work, the most useful book 
I have recently gotten hold of is Studd's 
" Select Charters," illustrative of English his- 
tory. You will find it essential for the study 
of the English Constitution. Freeman's lec- 
tures on the " Growth of the Eno^lish Consti- 
tution " are worth looking at. I have also 
been studying the new edition of " Gains," 
by Poste, in connection with Sander's "Jus- 
tinian." 

Providence, April 27, 1873. 

As everything in my household seems pros- 
pering, I shall sail for Europe on Wednesday 
by the Cunard steamer " Cuba," to be gone 
three or four months. I hope to meet Henry 
in Paris, and take a run with him to Italy, 
and then return with him to Portugal. 

To get away at this time, I have been 
doubling up my work at college. 



282 MEMOIRS, 

Mr. Diman's household at this time in- 
cluded the son and daughter born in Brook- 
line, and two other little girls, the youngest 
of whom was only a few weeks old. The fol- 
lowing extracts from letters to his wife give 
some account of this trip. 

TO MRS. DIM AN. 

At Sea, May 8, 1873. I have nothing 
special to tell of the voyage. Most of the 
time the weather has been clear, and my only 
amusement has been pacing the deck and 
conversing with my fellow-passengers, among 
whom I have found some pleasant compan- 
ions. 

London, May 12. Our ride to London 
took us through Rugby and Harrow, two 
towns in which I felt an especial interest. 
Attended service in Westminster Abbey. I 
fear that my thoughts wandered more than 
once from the sermon to the surrounding 
scenes. The fine statues of Canning and Pal- 
merston were just behind me, and my foot 
was on Palmerston's grave. 

Turin, May 15. I write you my first let- 
ter from Italy, about which you have heard 
me talk so much. The country going through 
England and France was beautiful, and the 



ITALY. 283 

ride through Burgundy interested me very 
much. At 2.20 we entered the famous Mont 
Cenis Tunnel, and in twenty-five minutes were 
through the mountain, descending the valley 
of Susa into Lombardy. The scenery was 
grand beyond description. The engineering 
work on the Italian side is, perhaps, more 
wonderful than the tunnel itself. The ride 
was one never to be forgotten. 

Rome, May 20. The ride across the Ap- 
ennines was of wonderful beauty, especially 
in descending the southern slopes. Indeed, 
I came to Italy to see art and antiquities, and 
was not prepared for the extraordinary charm 
of the natural scenery. The ride from Flor- 
ence to Rome was an endless succession of 
delights, an alternation of richly cultivated 
fields, in which men and women were gath- 
ering hay, quaint old battlemented towers, 
hills crowned with ruined castles, and distant 
mountains lifting their snowy peaks in the 
sunlight. I was entirely alone all the way, 
and had almost forgotten to mark the hours, 
when suddenly the great dome of St. Peter's 
came in full sight. I am fairly astounded by 
the remains of imperial Rome. I was not pre- 
pared for anything so vast. 

Naples, May 25. This my fourth Sun- 



284 MEMOIRS. 

day since leaving home, I spend in this lovely 
spot. I sit by an open window, through which 
a delicious air blows from the bay, which is 
hardly more than a stone's throw off. Directly 
in front rises Capri, where Tiberius used to 
celebrate his orgies ; on the right is Baiae, 
and on the left Sorrento, each stretching away 
into the distance ; and standing on the balcony 
I have a complete view of Vesuvius, the white 
steam pouring from the summit. Though it 
is warm in the sun, the air is deHcious. One 
can realize the meaning of the old saying, 
" See Naples and die." 

Yesterday was given to Vesuvius. We 
did not reach the cone till noon ; the blazino^ 
sun made it very hot, and about half way up 
I gave out, and had to be carried. But we 
were abundantly rewarded for every fatigue. 
The view into the crater far exceeded my ex- 
pectations. It was awful beyond description, 
and seemed like looking into hell itself. The 
sulphurous steam poured up in dense masses, 
and when the Avind blew it toward us we had 
to run to escape suffocation. 

Wednesday morning the rain had ceased, 
and by laying the dust had made the day a 
delightful one for Pompeii, where I passed 
several hours. Herculaneum in some respects 



NAPLES, ROME, AND FLORENCE. 285 

impressed me more than Pompeii, since it is 
still a buried city. Pompeii has been so un- 
covered that it seems like other ruins ; but 
here was a great city, with its treasures still 
hidden. 

Rome, June 1. The afternoon was spent 
among the wonderful ruins of the Palaces of 
the Caesars, and at the magnificent basilica of 
Saint Paul, without the walls. Saw also the 
Temple of Vesta, and the Moses of Michael 
Angelo. 

Florence, June 8. I left Rome last 
Tuesday. Although I had enjoyed my visit 
so much, yet I left with rather a feeling of 
relief, there seemed so much to do every day. 
My visit was very successful for the end that 
I had in view, and I could not but feel that 
my ten days have been well bestowed. 

— The return to Florence was made by way 
of Leghorn and Pisa, and the sights in Flor- 
ence were seen. — The statue of the Venus de 
Medicis more than met my expectation. The 
pictures here are finer than in Rome. 

Venice, June 15. We climbed the Cam- 
panile, and had a fine view of the city and 
islands. Toward the north the snowy sum- 
mits of the Austrian Alps towered above the 
clouds. We strolled for a while in Saint 



286 MEMOIRS. 

Marks, and then attended service at the Greek 
church. I was anxious to witness this service, 
but found it stupid beyond measure. The 
prettiest thing I saw in the church was a little 
girl holding her brother's hand, her shoes out 
at the toes, who reminded me of L. 

Venice is not a place to be seen in a day, 
but one where there should be time to dream 
and muse. 

Marseilles, June 21. Friday morning 
I left Genoa, and came to this city by the 
superb road along the coast. 

So ended my long meditated tour through 
Italy, in just six weeks and two days after enter- 
ing it, — weeks full of ever-changing interest, 
and passed without sickness or mischief of any 
kind. The way by which I went out was as 
striking as that by which I came in, but wholly 
different ; one over the mountains, the other 
by the sea. 

Barcelona, June 25. The contrast is 
very striking between Italy and Spain. In 
Rome and Florence, life was quiet, and the 
very atmosphere was impregnated with art and 
culture. Here all is stir, and the whole talk 
is of war. 

Madrid, June 30. We left Barcelona 
for Valencia. The road was most of the way 



SPAIN. 287 

by the sea, so we did not suffer from heat, 
but the scenery was singularly uninteresting. 
Valencia is a semi-Moorish city, with narrow 
crooked streets. We have visited the Gallery 
and the Arsenal, both unrivalled of their kind. 
We go to-morrow to the Escurial, and hope to 
start by Wednesday for Toledo and Granada. 

Granada, July 6. Yesterday morning 
we started with an excellent guide for the 
Alhambra, spending the entire morning there. 
Aside from its beautiful situation and roman- 
tic history, the place is a little disappointing, 
and the exteriors of all the buildings are 
mean and the interiors small. The stucco 
work, however delicate, seems a little cheap, 
after the costly marbles of Italy. In the af- 
ternoon we visited the famous gardens of the 
Alhambra. 

Lisbon, July 13. We left Granada at 
midnight Sunday, the only time when any 
conveyance started, to return to Cordova. 
Part of the journey was a wild diligence ride 
through the hills, each carriage being drawn 
by eight mules, driven up and down hill at 
the top of their speed by two drivers and a 
postilion, all three making the most unearthly 
howls. 

We passed a day at Cordova, where the 



288 MEMOIRS. 

great object of interest is the Cathedral, for- 
merly a Moorish mosque, and the largest in 
the world. The roof is upheld by nearly a 
thousand columns of every style, and stolen 
from every Christian land on the Mediterra- 
nean. 

Tuesday morning we kept on our way to 
Seville, once the most beautiful city in Spain, 
but now in great decay. The attractions were 
numerous. First we saw the Cathedral, a 
vast pile of mixed styles, the Gothic predomi- 
nating. 

Then we saw the Alcazar, the former pal- 
ace of the Moorish kings, partly unimpaired, 
and the rest splendidly restored, so that it 
seemed to me more magnificent and impres- 
sive than the Alhambra. 

London, July 21. My wanderings are 
safely over, and I say to myself with delight 
that next weekl shall sail for home. I shall 
stay here a few days, and then make a short 
run to Paris. In my letters I have done lit- 
tle more than give you the external history 
of my trip. It has had, too, an inner his- 
tory, which I cannot write. It has had many 
moments of, I trust, not unprofitable reflec- 
tion. 



FAST DAY. 289 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, February 26, 1874. 

As this is the day set apart for the annual 
College Fast, instead of being at this moment 
in my class-room expounding the Wars of the 
Reformation, I am in my easy-chair at home, 
exploring the recesses of my own heart to dis- 
cover, if possible, a few shortcomings. 

On the whole, the sin which moves me to 
most poignant repentance is having inadver- 
tently omitted to thank you for your very 
graceful speech at Cornell last summer. . . . 
I have also to thank you for a copy of your 
University Calendar. 

I will frankly confess that I am no more 
than ever a convert to the plan of educating 
both sexes together. Not that I dread any 
moral difficulties, but I believe the two sexes 
have a different work to do, and should re- 
ceive a different training. But we won't go 
into the question here. 

We have begun on our second term, and 
I am now teaching Political Economy. What 
a field you have before you to enlighten the 
West on this subject ! It is inconceivable how 
such a flood of nonsense could be poured 
forth as the debates in Congress show. Alas ! 



290 MEMOIRS. 

what are we coming to, with such arrant fools 
to make our laws ? 

Now that I have written this confession 
of sin, it is surprising how comfortable I feel. 
I can almost say with Rousseau, in his Confes- 
sions, " that a glance into my heart convinces 
me that I am the best of men/' But I have 
still before me as a part of the day's duty 
listening to a sermon, and that, no doubt, will 
put an end to my complacency. 

I kept quietly at home during the vaca- 
tion, only going to Boston to give one of a 
course of sermons in King's Chapel. I had a 
fine congregation, and a very good time. 

Providence, May 21, 1874. 

We are rapidly drawing near to the close 
of our year's work. This week I finish with 
the Seniors ; the last part of the time I have 
been on International Law. Public interna-' 
tional law interests me, especially in its con- 
nection with natural rights, but the details 
of Private seem to me rather fitted for profes- 
sional study than academic. 

The summer vacation, with short trips away 
from home, followed. In August Mr. Diman 
was in Providence again. The foreign jour- 



PREACHING. 291 

nal, containing the record of his student Hfe 
abroad, has the following note added to it : — 

Providence, August 12, 1874. 

My old and dear friend Tiffany dined 
with me to-day, to commemorate the twentieth 
anniversary of our sailing together for Europe. 
None with us but Professor B. and J. Had 
a most pleasant time recalling old scenes, and 
sat up late into the night talking over the 
days of the past. 

Twenty years ! Eheu^fugaces annos! 

Mr. Diman continued to preach. What he 
Wrote of Professor Dunn was equally true of 
himself : " He relinquished the ministry with 
profound regret, and often looked back upon 
it with longing eyes. To the end of his days, 
and amid the most engrossing academic duties, 
he could find time for the preparation of new 
discourses, and himself derived from preaching 
the satisfaction which he afforded others." 

In speaking of a friend v/ho had left the 
pulpit for a college chair, he writes : " I have 
sometimes thought he might exchange for a 
rural parish, but never dreamed of his becom- 
ing a fallen angel like myself." There is a 
world of pathos to those who knew him, in 
this half-playf ul yet wholly serious sentence. 



292 MEMOIRS. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, October 21, 1874. 
I was waited on last week by a committee 
from the Second Churcli in Boston, with an 
offer of the parish. They have a new edifice 
on the Back Bay, and the plan is to have an 
Independent church, that will draw from Unita- 
rians and Orthodox alike. Dr. Peabody has 
written, warmly urging me to go, but I do not 
incline to it. 

January 30, 1875. 

I have been preaching a good deal, and go 
to Boston to-morrow, but have not changed 
my opinion with regard to a charge. 

TO THE REV. RUFUS ELLIS, D.D. 

Providence, March 11, 1875. 
I thank you for your very kind letter of the 
2d inst., which reflected almost precisely my 
own feeling. My own difficulties are, in the 
main, those which you express. For success 
in the ministry, a man needs to be the mouth- 
piece of a sect, or at least to be able to express 
himself with great distinctness on certain dis- 
puted points. On many of these points my 
own judgment is in suspense, and it would be 
hypocrisy for me to assume to speak with au- 



OFFER OF A PARISH. 293 

thority ; and in such a position as that which 
the minister of the Second Church would al- 
most of necessity hold, he would be continually 
called on to define his position. 

Aside from a general indisposition to resume 
the responsibilities of the pastoral office, it 
does not seem to me that such an independent 
position as that which I am invited to assume 
is, in itself, desirable ; and I quite agree with 
you in thinking that the Back Bay is not pre- 
cisely the part of the world which stands most 
in need of additional pulpit ministrations. 

With regard to the Good Friday service, I 
hold myself always ready to render you a help ; 
but I fear that your congregation will have 
too much of me. 

Dr. Roswell D. Hitchcock about this time 
wrote, " Will you be kind enough to tell me 
whether you have any wish, or willingness to 
return to pastoral life ? " and called Mr. 
Diman's attention to the needs of a large 
church in New York. 

TO PRESDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, May 29, 1875. 
I have done with the Seniors for some time, 
and next week all the classes finish. Com- 



294 MEMOIRS. 

mencement will come June 18, whieli winds us 
up rather earlier than when you used to heed 
the summons of the old bell. The term has 
gone through very smoothly, and the students 
have done good work. We have less variety in 
our courses than many colleges, but the work 
is as thoroughly done as anywhere. 

TO PRESIDENT AKGELL. 

Providence, January 20, 1876. 

My time has been a good deal taken up 
with my outside work. I am trying this winter 
to give the ladies some idea of English his- 
tory. Our club meetings have been pleasant, 
as usual, and a good deal enlivened by Dominie 
Thayer, who is passing the winter here, and is 
amazingly cheerful for one in feeble health. 

The English lectures began with the legen- 
dary period of English history before the inva- 
sion of Caesar. How England came to exist ; 
How England came to be Christian ; English 
Institutions, — these are the titles of the fol- 
lowing lectures. The course was particularly 
rich in illustration, and gave the greater pleas- 
ure in that it showed the logical sequence and 
relative significance of events and facts, with 
which the classes were somewhat familiar. 



OUTSIDE WORK. 295 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, March 25, 1876. 

Do you remember how seven years ago we 
climbed up Mt. Mansfield, to witness the total 
eclipse of the sun ? Well, the Journal says 
there is to be an eclipse to-day, unfortunately 
hidden from our mortal gaze by a snow-storm ; 
and how can I more appropriately commemo- 
rate such an interesting celestial phenomenon 
than by answering your most welcome let- 
ter. . . . 

We had the last meeting of the club last 
evening, at Lincoln's. Cald^^ ell read a fin- 
ished paper on the Mendicant orders. 

College has gone on very quietly. Work on 
the new library will recommence soon. For 
the money we shall have, on the whole, a 
very satisfactory building. This, with the 
new court-house and city hall, will change 
the architectural appearance of the city. 

I have been busy with my outside classes, 
and with considerable preaching in Boston ; 
but I have a depressing sense of labor frit- 
tered away by not being concentrated on one 
thing. But to whom is life wholly satisfac- 
tory ? Certainly not to me. 



296 MEMOIRS. 

The club-meetings spoken of in the previous 
letters were those of the Friday Evening Club, 
which was organized in the winter of 1867-8, 
Mr. Diman and one other member drafting 
the rules and regulations. It had a dozen 
members, — professors in college, a bishop, a 
judge, several business men, clergymen, and 
a state of&cer. These gentlemen met fort- 
nightly at each other's houses, to read and 
discuss an essay, and follow it with a supper. 
Of a hundred and forty-nine meetings during 
Mr. Diman's lifetime, he was absent at only 
seven. "I think we all felt," writes Professor 
Lincoln, " that from first to last he was the life 
of it more than any one else. I will not say 
that we all thought him facile princeps in 
the club, but certainly he was a conspicuous 
chief, not only in his papers, always marked 
by ripe learning and scholarship both in con- 
ception and in style, but also in the discussions, 
where he spoke readily, and from a full mind, 
and to the point, no matter what the subject; 
and then, too, in conversation at the table, 
where always the ' largest liberty ' was al- 
lowed, and everybody was in an atmosphere of 
good-humor and gladness, there his wit and 
wisdom rang out rich and free and melodious 
in its gladness, even as the clear, fresh sing- 



THE FRIDAY EVENING CLUB. 297 

ing of a bird (Shelley's Skylark, for instance), 
that must and will sing for very joy. With 
every one of us, I am sure that the memory 
of him in those evenings will abide as an in- 
spiration forever." 

To this club of personal friends most of 
Mr. Diman's essays and addresses were read 
before their public delivery. The "Historical 
Basis of Belief," of which he wrote to Presi- 
dent Angell, was read here. The winter fol- 
lowing his Spanish trip a delightful paper 
on Saracenic Architecture in Spain was read, 
succeeded the next winter by an essay on 
Spanish Artists. In November, 1875, the ar- 
ticle on " Religion in America," published as 
a centennial article in the North American 
Review, in January, 1876, v/as read to the 
club.^ Throughout Mr. Diman's life, some 
of his best work was read here, much of 
which still remains unpublished. 

As a young man Mr. Diman felt the need 
of companionship, and emphatically declared 
that man is a social animal. This he con- 
tinued to believe. He enjoyed society, he 
enjoyed conversation, and was in every way 
fitted to shine in social life. His tall and well- 
made figure, his fine head and noble bearing, 

^ Orations and Essays. 



298 MEMOIRS. 

made him noticeable ; and his conversation, 
full of graceful turns, of witty allusions, or 
of clever paradox, was dehghtful. How often 
have the ladies of the house, at the club- 
meetings, heard his clear and resonant voice, 
followed by a shout of laughter from his com- 
panions ! He had always a story to cap the 
climax, and told it in his inimitable way, 
with a perfectly grave face, and perfect com- 
mand of voice, but with such laughing eyes ! 
"Diman is well, and as dry as ever," a college 
class-mate wrote of him in the days of early 
manhood ; and this peculiarly mirth-provoking 
quality of humor he always retained. 

Dr. Samuel L. Caldwell writes of these 
club evenings : — 

" It is difficult to analyze, at all events to 
describe, the charm of Mr. Diman's conversa- 
tion. A part of it belonged to the pose of the 
head, and indeed of the whole body, — the 
perfect control of every muscle, the firm chin, 
the fixed yet pleased, the piercing yet kindly 
look of the eye, the sharp cut which the 
teeth gave every vocable, even with the deeper 
tones which came from the other vocal organs, 
the composure, the assurance rarely broken by 
any passion into confusion or demonstrative 



GIFTS OF A TALKER. 299 

force, the smile, the laugh, which never got 
beyond what he had to say to spoil its effect, 
and yet which kindled a beautiful light on all 
he was saying, and sent its contagion through 
a company of listeners, and whatever a very 
striking and impressive person imparts to a 
man's talk. He had all the physical gifts of 
a good talker. His voice, never loud, rarely 
lapsing into softness, had a clear, intellect- 
ual ring, a fixed, decisive quality, not aggres- 
sive and yet not hesitating, which shot his 
words to their mark. And yet his conversa- 
tion was as far as possible from that impres- 
sive and elegant manner of saying nothing 
which makes some persons, apparently elo- 
quent, really wearisome. 

" His conversations come back to me now 
chiefly as we had our long walks together, 
when they took the form of dialogue, or, if 
I inclined, of monologue, and at the Friday 
Evening Club, nodes, coenaeque deum, where, 
in ^ the combat of wits,' he was kindled into 
his best. And yet I do not think there was 
any great difference in quality. With only 
another, or with company, there was the same 
aptness of words to the thought, the same 
freshness or fullness of knowledge, the same 
mixture of sobriety and fun, the same dis- 



300 MEMOIRS. 

position to banter, the same originality with 
what seemed a fondness for paradox^ the same 
courage of his convictions and boldness in their 
assertion^ which made his talk so stimulating 
and so provocative of discussion. Strangers, 
people with whom he was on no confidential 
footing, often were startled by his fearless 
way of talking about things which seemed to 
them sacred, or about which they were very 
sensitive. He was not one of the over-careful 
sort, so afraid of being misunderstood that 
they are really unappreciated. He had enough 
to say, and he was never afraid to say it, 
even when it seemed singular and not ac- 
cording to accepted opinions. And in the 
club, where for years a dozen of us spent 
an evening together once a fortnight, with a 
recognized parity, and on terms of entire con- 
fidence, it was delightful and refreshing to 
have him started, not only in criticism of the 
paper of the evening, — in that never ram- 
bling into discursive platitudes, but sticking 
to the subject in hand, while always adding 
something to our knowledge or breadth of 
view, — but in the unfettered table-talk after- 
wards, with bright wits at his heels to spur 
him on. Nobody could trip him ; he held 
his own, even in the drollest paradoxes. The 



CONVERSATIONAL POWERS. 301 

gravity with v.^hicli he would maintain them 
might puzzle persons unused to his conversa- 
tion, and leave them uncertain how far he was 
in earnest. We came to learn how much 
deep conviction often lay under his enigmas 
and raillery. And often he would straighten 
himself to a strain of subdued eloquence, in 
which his deepest thought and best feeling 
came out. He was not given to much story- 
telling, and I think would hardly pass for a 
brilliant raconteur. 

" Senator Anthony once gave me an instance 
of the ludicrous perplexity into which a stran- 
ger could fall over some of his bold, and what 
seemed paradoxical, utterances, in the case of 
the Turkish Minister at Washington, who once 
met him at a dinner-table in Providence. He 
was of the Greek obedience, and was so puz- 
zled bv the talk of the brilliant Professor, 
that he asked the Senator what his religion 
might be, for he talked as if he might belong 
to the Orthodox Apostolic Church. Proba- 
bly he had shown an acquaintance with the 
doctrines of the Minister's own church, which 
he mistook for acceptance of them, and very 
likely talked in the large catholic way w^hich 
wTiS natural to his mental temper, with just 
enough of that mixture of fun which charmed 



302 MEMOIRS. 

those who understood it, and perplexed those 
who did not. 

" I may as well give up here trpng to trans- 
late that subtle charm of his talk, which is so 
easy and sweet to remember, and so hard to 
put into any fit description. The silver reso- 
nance of that voice still dwells in our ears, 
thouo^h it is silent forever. That fine sarcasm 
which I see now going down that speaking 
face, and into his nose and lip and tones ; 
that incisive wit and wisdom which penetrated 
his very voice and manner ; that swift passage 
of his mind and his talk from grave to gay, 
from lively to severe ; that rich culture which 
made his words, his very manner of saying 
anything, music ; that calm power which held 
listeners like a magnet, — it is all like water 
spilt upon the ground, which cannot be gath- 
ered up again. Hardly a drop of it, in its 
fresh beauty, have I been able to recover ; for 
how great, and yet how indescribable, the 
charm of our friend's conversation was." 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

1877-1879. AET. 46-48* 

Oration at Cambridge. — Letter to President Angell. -^ 
Offer of a Professorship in the Johns Hopkins Univer- 
sity. — North American Keview. — Reform School. — 
Rhode Island Hospital. — The Capture of Prescott. — 
The Roger Williams Address. — Letters. — Address at 
the Opening of the Rogers Free Library in Bristol. -— 
Bristol. — Commencement. — Letter to Mr. Augustus 
Lowell. — Letter to President Oilman. — Accepts Invita- 
tion to deliver a Course of Lectures before the I^ow- 
ell Institute. — Baltimore. — Lectures. — Preparation of 
Briefs. — President Oilman on the Lectures. — Letters 
to Mrs. Diman. 

Under date of June 26, 1876, Mr. Diman 
wrote to President Angell : " At such inter- 
vals of time as I could command, I have been 
working on a Phi Beta Kappa oration/ which 
I am to give at Cambridge this week." This 
is his only allusion to what was the most no- 
ticeable event of his academic life. The bril- 
liant assembly in Sanders Theatre were won 
by his calm and forcible delivery, no less than 

^ "The Alienation of the Educated Class from Politics." 
Orations and Essays. 



304 MEMOIRS. 

by the depth and richness of his thought, as 
he set forth his conviction " that a seat of lib- 
eral discipline fulfills its noblest functions in 
the rearing of wise, magnanimous, public-spir- 
ited men, — of men not merely equipped for 
scientific pursuits, but accustomed to the most 
generous recognition of the responsibilities 
resting upon man as man." 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

January 2, 1877. 

What better beginning can I make for the 
New Year, after paying my small bills, than 
by writing you ? How long ago already 
seems our day's fishing at Gay Head, yet how 
swiftly the weeks have fled. . . . My work at 
college has gone on as usual, and since Thanks- 
giving I have had the additional occupation 
of my History classes. On the whole I do 
not know that I have suffered in mind or 
body, save in the attempt to read " Daniel 
Deronda " aloud to my wife. I think I told 
you last summer of Oilman's offer.^ He came 

1 May 29, 1876, Mr. Diman wrote to President Gilman : 
" The substance of my letter to you was, that while I feel a 
deep interest in the undertaking in which you are engaged, 
and under ordinary circumstances should regard it as a priv- 
ilege to cooperate with you, yet considerations of a purely 
domestic nature would render any change of residence at the 



AMOUNT OF WORK. 305 

on to see me this fall, but with no other re- 
sult. There is much in the position that would 
be tempting, were there no other claims upon 
me. Last week I went to Boston by invitation 
to see the new editors of the North American, 
who want to enlist my zealous cooperation. 
Their plan is to make the venerable quarterly 
a sort of Contemporary Review. I confess I 
am not without doubts as to the success of 
the plan. 

The year was a full one, as all Mr. Diman's 
years were. The History classes, of which 
there were still three, the Friends' School Fri- 
day lectures, the Normal School Saturday 
lectures, made four or five lectures a week, be- 
sides college work, which required a daily 
lecture to the Seniors, and in the last half-year 
two lectures a week on Political Economy. 
The revision of examination papers and weekly 
analyses, or written answers to questions, also 
required time. 

Most men would have considered this a 
sufficient amount of work; but to this Mr. 
Diman added frequent preaching, and the 
duties on the School Board, which, however, 

time so difficult that it would be unjust to you to allow you 
to urge your flattering proposal any further." 



306 MEMOIRS. 

were given up in 1875 ; and he was also a 
trustee of the Rhode Island Hospital, and of 
the Reform School. To the latter office he 
v^as elected in 1871, continuing in office till 
June, 1880, when the duties of the Board of 
Trustees ended with the transfer of the insti- 
tution to the State. For two months in each 
year Mr. Diman conducted the religious ser- 
vices of the Institution. " No one," wrote 
Superintendent Eldridge, shortly after Mr. 
Diman's death, " can estimate the influence of 
his instructive addresses to the children, and 
of his noble presence and exalted character. 
The learned and great all over the land will 
pay fitting tribute to his memory ; but to my 
mind the tearful, sad faces of a hundred and 
eighty friendless children, each feeling a per- 
sonal loss in the removal of one they knew 
cared for them and sympathized with them, 
is no slight testimony to his worth and nobility 
of character." 

That the boys of the school really trusted 
him was shown by an incident which occurred 
one Sunday afternoon, by which Mr. Diman 
Avas touched and pleased, and also a little 
troubled. Two boys had escaped from the 
Reform School, and a reward was offered by 
the State for their capture. As Mr. Diman 



PUBLIC CHARITIES. 307 

was walking in his garden, one of these boys 
came to him, told him who he was, his reasons 
for making the escape, and what he considered 
the injustice of his treatment. As they were 
talking together, a policeman came by and 
slowly walked the whole length of the garden. 
Mr. Diman said he was puzzled. As an ofii- 
cer of the school it was his duty to have the 
boy returned, but the boy had confided in 
him, and come to him as a man as well as an 
officer. As the policeman passed, Mr. Diman 
said : "I could have called that man and had 
you arrested." "I know you could," said the 
boy, " and I was ready to run, but I saw you 
were not going to." 

Mr. Diman was elected a trustee of the 
Rhode Island Hospital in November, 1874. 
The trustees appoint the surgical and medical 
staff, and have the entire control of the affairs 
of the hospital. Each trustee has a term of 
service, which requires a weekly visit of inspec- 
tion during its continuance. These visits Mr. 
Diman punctually made, often making more 
than the stated number. In addition he was 
often placed upon special committees, and 
entered heartily into all the interests of the 
institution. 

His love of all children made him particu- 



308 MEMOIRS. 

larly tender to the little ones in the hospital, 
and interested him strongly in the establish- 
ment of a children's ward, which he did not 
live to see. One poor little girl, who was suf- 
fering from a most repulsive disease, particu- 
larly attracted his sympathy, and she became 
ardently devoted to him. She would come 
running to meet him, and with her little hand 
in his make the tour of the wards with him. 
On one occasion he promised her a doll, and 
found her at his next visit sitting on the stairs 
eagerly awaiting his arrival. 

At Portsmouth, on the island of Rhode 
Island, July 10, 1877, Mr. Diman delivered 
the oration on the capture of Prescott, by Bar- 
ton, in 1777. This was soon after published 
by Mr. S. S. Rider, and is the first number of 
the " Rhode Island Historical Tracts." 

The address at the unveiling of the Roger 
Williams monument followed on October 16 
of the same year.^ This address was most 
rapidly written. The sheets jvere sent to the 
printer as they were finished, so that Mr. Di- 
man never saw the whole of the manuscript 
together. The proof came back to him, 
which he read over a few times, and with it 
in his pocket as a safeguard in case of any 

^ Orations and Essays. 



THE ROGER WILLIAMS ADDRESS. 309 

embarrassmentj delivered the whole oration 
with splendid effect, without a pause or hesi- 
tation. Mr. S. S. Rider asked Mr. Diman if 
he would give him the manuscript to preserve. 
Mr. Diman told him, certainly he could have 
it if he could find it, and Mr. Rider secured 
it from the printer's waste-basket 1 He found 
it without a single erasure or correction. " I 
remember his telling me," writes Mr. Yose, 
" when I expressed surprise at the orations he 
delivered without notes, that it was scarcely 
any effort, but after a few readings the words 
and phrases came to him, without care, in their 
perfect order." 

Of this oration Mr. Diman writes : — 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, November 1, 1877. 
The Roger Williams affair turned out far 
beyond my expectations. An enormous crowd 
was assembled, and everybody seemed very 
enthusiastic. 

This vear Mr. Diman made his first contri- 
bution to the '' Nation," which published, July 
16, an article on "Baptists and Quakers," — 
a theme which grew naturally out of the prep- 
aration of the Roger Williams address. 



310 MEMOIRS. 

TO PRESIDENT OILMAN. 

Providence, January 14, 1878. 

It will give me great pleasure to accept 
tlie invitation conveyed in your note of the 
4tli instant, to give one of the afternoon 
courses of lectures at the Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity, during the session of 1878-79. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, January 27, 1878. 

Will it be laid to my charge by the re- 
cording angel, if I turn from the task of read- 
ing examination papers to write you a few 
lines ? . . . 

I read with much pleasure the account of 
your success at Cincinnati. I am anxious to 
hear more about it, especially your method of 
treatment, as I expect to have a similar task 
next winter at Baltimore. How much do 
you write, and how much prepare merely by 
notes ? 

I have been very busy this winter, as I 
have had a good deal of outside work. Next 
week I have a Sunday address^ to give at Bos- 
ton. But it is a sort of work that does not 
satisfy, it is so much scattered. 

^ Sermon on Future Punishment. Preached at King's 
Chapel February 10th. 



COMMENCEMENT. 311 

Part of the " outside work" this winter was 
an address at the opening of the Rogers Free 
Library in Bristol/ delivered January 12, 
1878. For Bristol Mr. Diman always retained 
his early love, and there also he was greatly 
beloved. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, June 20, 1878. 
While the impression of Commencement 
is still fresh, I will give you some account of 
it. . . . To me personally the day is always a 
little sober, for I miss the old circle that used 
to meet at your house. I fear the " tender 
grace " of that day will never come back. 

The " tender grace " of the days that return 
no more has cast its charm over the reflections 
with which Commencement day was greeted 
by the Journal of that morning. 

Among the great festivals which break the 
rapid and unending rounds of the seasons, 
there is none that brings with it the peculiar 
associations which belong to that which we 
celebrate to-day. There are others more 

1 Dedication of the Rogers Free Library, Bristol, Rhode 
Island. Providence: Sidney S. Rider, 1878. 



312 MEMOIRS. 

closely connected witli household memories, or 
with the great events of ecclesiastical or civil 
life ; but Commencement calls back the buoy- 
ant feelings of the early days when hope was 
bright and aspiration was high ; and the long 
procession with which it fills our streets, led 
by the alert and eager step of youth, and 
closed with the tottering steps of age, is a 
solemn panorama of human history. There 
are other processions which have more to at- 
tract the attention of a crowd, but there is 
none more impressive to a thoughtful observer. 
Year by year, for more than a century, it has 
pursued its accustomed route ; each year some 
familiar form is missing from it ; yet each year 
the vacant places are filled, and it grows 
larger and larger with the sturdy growth of 
the ancient University, each season bringing 
its new accession, one day in turn to become 
gray-haired and pass away. We cannot but 
think that some wholesome lessons are con- 
veyed by such a spectacle, and that few can 
walk to-day in this long line, in which succes- 
sive generations are thus represented, without 
having reflection tinged with a more sober 
coloring. It must be a benefit, once a year, 
to turn aside from the accustomed associations 
which so often are centered in selfish and lim- 



COMMENCEMENT. 313 

ited aims, and which, when eagerly pursued, 
so often withdraw us from a wide sympathy 
with our fellows, and revive the generous as- 
pirations of youth, and renew the cordial fel- 
lowship which is the distinctive note of a 
liberal culture. It is easy to understand the 
feeling which restrains many, especially of the 
older graduates, from taking part in this an- 
nual academic festivity. The thinned ranks 
of the classes that close the procession mingle 
a bitter drop in the joy with which the sur- 
vivors greet each other. Yet we cannot but 
think that they act more wisely who keep 
green in old age the recollections of youth, 
and who once a year make themselves young 

again among their old college mates. 

« 

The following note is the first of Mr. Di- 
man's in the correspondence regarding the 
course of Lowell Institute lectures : — 

TO AUGUSTUS LOWELL, ESQ. 

Providence, August 17, 1878. 

It would give me great pleasure to accept 
your invitation to deliver a course of lectures 
before the Lowell Institute, but for the fact 
that I have agreed to give a course before the 
Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore be- 



314 MEMOIRS. 

fore the close of next winter, and I fear that, 
with my other duties, it would be impossible 
for me to do justice to both engagements. 

TO PRESIDENT OILMAN. 

Providence, October 2, 1878. 

I find that the month of April will suit me 
better than any other time, as our Spring 
recess comes then. 

I propose to take the subject which I men- 
tioned to you, "The Thirty Years' War," 
but shall treat it very broadly in its relation 
to general European history, as preparing the 
way for the state system. If you have any 
suggestions to make with regard to the sub- 
ject, or the manner of treatment, I beg you 
will make them. * 

A busy autumn and winter followed. If 
in 1875 Mr. Diman had been " up to his 
eyes" in work on the Thirty Years' War, 
this winter he made even a fuller study of the 
subject. All the French and German author- 
ities were consulted, as is shown in the an- 
nouncement of his lectures, giving a list of 
the books to be used in connection with them. 
The private classes went on as usual, having 
lectures on English history. At the end of 



LOWELL INSTITUTE LECTURES. 315 

the winter Mr. Augustus Lowell wrote again, 
proposing a course of Lowell lectures upon 
some theme connected with religion and mod- 
ern speculation. In reply, Mr. Diman writes : 

TO AUGUSTUS LOWELL, ESQ. 

Providence, March 3, 1879. 

It gives me great pleasure to accept the in- 
vitation, which you have kindly renewed, to 
lecture before the Lowell Institute during the 
coming season. 

With regard, however, to a theme, will you 
allow me to say that for many years past my 
attention has been exclusively directed to his- 
torical studies, and that I feel much better 
prepared to deal with an historical subject. 

Will this modification of your suggestion 
meet with your approval ? 

Providence, March 10, 1879. 
With every possible disposition to yield to 
your preference, I still cannot resist the con- 
viction that any lectures which I might pre- 
pare would derive their chief value from the 
fact that I was dealing with a familiar sub- 
ject. For some time past I have been giving 
my attention to the history of Europe during 
the Thirty Years' War, a period which the 



316 MEMOIRS. 

late Mr. Motley meant to handle. A course 
upon this period would supplement the lec- 
tures upon the Reformation given a few years 
ago by Professor Fisher. I have collected a 
considerable amount of material wliich has 
never been presented in English, and if I took 
this subject I could rewrite and improve what 
I have prepared to give in Baltimore. 

Should you, however, deem it essential that 
some theme should be selected bearino- more 
directly upon religion, I would suggest " The 
Relation of Christianity to Civil Society ; or, 
the Spiritual and Temporal Powers in their 
Historical Development." 

But I fear that were I to attempt a specific 
course upon either Natural or Revealed Reli- 
gion, I should simply repeat what has been 
better said by others. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, March 24, 1879. 
I have had a very busy winter getting ready 
for Baltimore, and preaching a good deal at 
King's Chapel in Boston. I leave for Balti- 
more at the close of this week, not without 
some solicitude as to my success ; for I have 
not written my lectures out, but shall deliver 
them from my full briefs. Of course, the 



BALTIMORE LECTURES. 317 

success will depend much on the mode of 
delivery. 

The briefs were prepared in the same man- 
ner as those for the History classes, examples 
of which have been given, but were fuller 
and lono^er. The notes for each lecture cover 
from ten to fifteen foolscap pages. A few 
sentences at the beginning and end are written 
out in the way they were delivered, but the 
rest of the lecture is only suggested by heads 
of subjects and disconnected phrases. No 
written report of these lectures exists ; and as 
it would require a scholar of Mr. Diman's own 
research and attainment to write them from 
his notes, they will probably remain unwritten. 

" The subject will be treated throughout in 
its general relation to European history, and 
as marking the transition from ecclesiastical 
to secular politics," the announcement reads. 
The topics treated are : " The general causes 
of the struofor-le as connected with the state of 
Europe ; the House of Austria after the Ref- 
ormation ; the religious parties in Germany ; 
the Evangelical Union ; the revolt of Bohe- 
mia ; the foreign policy of James I. ; the con- 
version of a Bohemian into a German ques- 
tion ; the military system of Mansfield ; the 



318 MEMOIRS. 

Danish war ; the rise of Wallenstein ; the 
connection of Sweden with German politics ; 
the designs of Ferdinand ; the career of Gus- 
tavus Adolphus ; the relations of Spain with 
the Empire ; the fall of Wallenstein ; the pol- 
icy of Richelieu ; the social condition of Ger- 
many during the late years of the war ; the 
peace of Westphalia, in its relation to the 
Empire and the state system of Europe ; the 
general results of the struggle in their bearing 
upon German unity and nationahty." Twenty 
lectures there were in all. 

President Gilman, writing after Mr. Diman's 
death, says : "Among the many visitors brought 
here by the Johns Hopkins University during 
the last few vears, I do not think there is 
one who so thoroughly gained the affection- 
ate respect of our community as he did. His 
catholicity of spirit, his nobility of character, 
his wide and accurate knowledge, made a 
strong impression on all who heard his lec- 
tures, and those who knew him privately loved 
as well as they esteemed him." ... Of the 
lectures. President Gilman says : " He seemed 
to be talking to a company of friends on a 
subject of great importance, which he per- 
fectly understood, with an unhesitating com- 
mand not only of names and dates, but of 



BALTIMORE LECTURES, 319 

exact epithets and discriminating sentences. 
The ease with which he lectured under cir- 
cumstances of very considerable difficulty, was 
only equalled by the instruction and pleasure 
he gave the auditors." 

Mr. Diman's years of training in lecturing 
to his students, to his private classes, and on 
public occasions, of course stood him in good 
stead at this time ; but of his special prepara- 
tion for these lectures, and of the method of 
delivering them, the following extracts from 
letters to his wife give some account. 

TO MRS. DIMAN. 

Baltimore, April 2, 1879. 
My first lecture was given at five o'clock 
yesterday. The room will hold comfortably 
two hundred and fifty, and there had been 
four hundred applications for tickets. All 
the seats were taken six weeks ago. I was 
not in first-rate condition, and am sure I can 
do better than I did. But I spoke wholly 
without notes, though I had them on the 
desk. The audience filled the room, and was 
very attentive. 

April 5. 

As I have got a little used to the room 
and audience, I feel more at ease, and find no 



320 MEMOIRS. 

difficulty in getting through an entire lecture 
"with no reference to my notes. I am now 
reaping the advantage of my hard work dur- 
ing the winter, as I have my work for each 
day already marked out. But the method I 
pursue imposes on me some hard study each 
day, in order to fill my mind with the subject ; 
and as the lecture does not come till five 
o'clock, the day is fatiguing. I take a very 
light dinner at one, which is the hour at this 
house, and then a cup of tea at half-past four. 
So I manage very well. 

April 9. 

It does not seem to me that I do as well as 
at home, for the room is now crowded to over- 
flowing and often very warm, and the lecture 
comes at a time of the day when I feel less 
bright than at any other ; but everybody ex- 
presses great satisfaction, so I ought to feel 
content. Yet it is not pleasant not to be doing 
one's best. 

April 17. 

I have to give much of the day to prepa- 
ration for my lecture. First, I go carefully 
over what I have written, and compare it 
with the French history of the war Avhich I 
brought with me for the purpose, and which is 
based upon the same authorities that I used. 



BALTIMORE LECTURES. 321 

In this way I see whether I have omitted any- 
thing of consequence. Then I write out a 
condensed analysis of the lecture on the first 
and last pages of my manuscript, which I left 
for the purpose. This I carefully commit to 
memory, studying the lecture in connection 
with each point. By doing this I have been 
able to give every lecture thus far without 
once opening my manuscript. When people 
ask me how it is that I do it so easily, they do 
not know how much study I have given to it. 
But as my work is not over till six o'clock, I 
feel very tired, and prefer generally to stay in, 
rather than go out of an evening. 

My lectures have been resumed this week 
(after the Good Friday recess), with no sign 
of any abatement of interest. Although each 
day thus far has been rainy, the room has 
always been completely filled. 

April 23. 

My lectures have been going on as usual 
this week, with no lessening of the attendance. 
It must be confessed it is a pretty hard pull 
on the patience of an audience to give them 
twenty lectures on the same subject. 

April 27. 

Yesterday was devoted to an excursion to 
Annapolis, a place I was very glad to seeo 



322 MEMOIRS 

The town itself is old and curious, with a few 
stately mansions, memorials of colonial days. 
The only drawback was the heat, which dur- 
ing our stay at Annapolis was very oppressive. 

April 29. 

I am rapidly closing my work, and hope 
very soon to set my face homewards. This 
week I have been busy making farewell calls ; 
to-morrow I shall give my last lecture, and 
Thursday morning I hope to start for home. 

The letters are also filled with accounts of 
the many dehghtful social gatherings, which 
Mr. Diman enjoyed, and to which he often 
referred with pleasure. A dinner given by 
Mr. Reverdy Johnson, a visit to the Arch- 
bishop, and the meetings with many interest- 
ing people, are fully dwelt upon. 

The official report of attendance on these 
lectures gives an average of one hundred and 
ninety-two, and the whole number of over 
thirty-eight hundred persons present. Even 
on the very rainy days a hundred and thirty 
people gathered, and on two days of rain a 
hundred and ninety. 



CHAPTER XV. 

1879— Feb. 3, 1881. aet. 48-49 and 9 months. 

Normal School Lectures. — Lowell Institute Lectures. — Prep- 
aration for them. — Pressure of Work. — Professor Fisher's 
Opinion of the Lectures. — Professor Chace's Opinion. — 
Mr. R. Hazard on the Book. — Letter to President Angell. 
— Letter to President Oilman. — Lectures on Constitutional 
History. — Trip to the Maine Woods. — Bi-Centennial 
Address at Bristol. — Political Speech. — Lectures on the 
Nineteenth Century. — Letters to President Oilman. — 
Last Letter to President Angell. — Lecture on Canning. 
— Illness. — Death. 

No sooner had Mr. Diman returned from 
Baltimore, than with his inexhaustible energy 
he plunged into fresh work. The course of 
five Saturday morning lectures at the Normal 
School, beginning May 17, he would doubt- 
less still have spoken of as " simple affairs." 
The subject was American History, especially 
the growth and alienation of the Colonies, and 
the lectures were among the most admirable 
he ever delivered, embodying his latest studies, 
and being presented with all his accustomed 
fullness and aptness of illustration.^ 

^ See Library Journal, Vol. V. p. 329. Reference List on 
Special Topics, by W. E. Foster. 



324 MEMOIRS. ' 

" I know that to some the history of other 
lands seems more attractive," Mr. Diman wrote 
in 1878. " In the picturesque incidents of 
the Feudal period, in the splendid epochs of 
Monarchical rule, there is more at first sight to 
arrest the attention and stir the imagfination. 
Compared with these, our own annals may 
seem tame and homely. But when we have 
outgrown the romantic longings of youth, we 
come by degrees to realize that no portion of 
history better deserves our attention than the 
chapters which recite this great experiment of 
self-government in the New World. Eightly 
comprehended, there has been nothing grander 
in the past, and there is nothing with which 
the hopes of the future are more closely linked. 
Nor is it really lacking in picturesque inci- 
dent, and in the highest examples of virtue 
and public spirit. To become thoroughly im- 
bued with the temper of that experiment, to 
realize intelligently its scope, is itseK an edu- 
cation for any man.^ " 

The summer vacation passed quietly, v/ith 
short trips away from home. The autumn 
opened with unusual pressure of work. At 
an interview in Boston with Mr. Augustus 

1 Address at the Dedication of the Rogers Free Library in 
Bristol. 



PREPARATION FOR LOWELL LECTURES. 325 

Lowell, some time after the date of the lett3rs 
in the previous chapter, Mr. Diman " yielded 
to my urgent request," writes Mr. Lowell, 
" and agfreed to deliver the course of lectures 
upon the ^Theistic Argument as affected by 
Recent Theories.' " Though the subject was 
not that pursued during his life as college 
professor, yet it was one in which he was pro- 
foundly interested, and to which he came with 
ample preparation. Twenty years before he 
had written : " I have often thought that of 
all things I should prefer to write some little 
work connected with man's hio^hest interests." 
These " highest interests " he had ever before 
him in all his teaching. The touch-stone of 
moral worth was applied to the lessons of 
History, and to the lives of men, howev^er 
brilliantly they were described. His study of 
philosophy, and constant interest in philo- 
sophical topics, prepared him to deal with the 
questions raised ; and the special preparation 
needed was only a careful review. Though 
his knowledge of modern scientific research 
and speculation was accurate, yet for these lec- 
tures he made a thorough examination of all 
recent works on the subject. " In particular," 
writes Professor George P. Fisher, under whose 
supervision the lectures were published, " the 



326 MEMOIRS. 

most recent writers, such as Mill, Spencer, 
Huxley, Darwin, Tyndall, who have dealt 
directly or indirectly with these topics from 
points of view more or less at variance with 
prevalent opinion, he examined afresh. At 
the same time he did not pass by the ablest 
writers in defense of theism. I perceive that 
he had profited especially by the perusal of 
Janet's thorough treatise on ^ Final Causes,' 
and Professor Flint's excellent volumes on 
Theism, and Anti-Theistic Theories." 

For the first time Mr. Diman began to feel 
the pressure of his work. His usually buoy- 
ant spirit was oppressed by the weight of the 
arguments brought against him. Not that he 
ever doubted his own position, or failed to see 
the goal at which he should arrive. But the 
fairness of his mind allowed him to pass by 
no obstacle ; each must be fully met, and hon- 
estly conquered. And it was to some degree 
a new line of thought to which he bent his 
energies. The difficulties of the problems, he 
said, he had not fully appreciated when he 
undertook the subject, and at times they al- 
most overwhelmed him. There were no morn- 
ing History classes this winter, and but one 
evening class, which heard ten lectures on the 
Thirty Years' War. All Mr. Diman's time 



PRESSURE OF WORK. 327 

was taken up with the engrossing theme. His 
habit of mind was so elastic that he did not 
dread interruption, as many scholars do. In 
the less busy days of his early professorship 
the morning's work was usually broken by a 
visit to the nursery and a frolic with the chil- 
dren. Even now, in this pressure of work, 
his intimate friends were admitted to his study 
in the busy morning hours. The door would 
open into the pleasant sunshiny south room, 
with its smouldering wood fire, and he would 
rise a little wearily from the study-table cov- 
ered with books and manuscript. " It goes 
slowly," he would say, with a smile and a 
sigh. Then the big cat would be ousted from 
the easy-chair, where she dosed. " Here, 
puss," he would say, reprovingly, and put 
her gently down, or sometimes keep her on 
his arm a moment. His visitor seated in the 
chair thus vacated, all work was pushed aside 
— or only talked of for that visitor's pleasure. 
Those who loved him naturally claimed but a 
few moments in such a morning, and left the 
sunny room in perfect confidence of his ulti- 
mately conquering all difficulties. 

How fully Mr. Diman did so is expressed in 
Professor Fisher's preface to the book. " It 
is marked by the elevation and grace which, 



328 MEMOIRS. 

as they were part and parcel of the author's 
mind, could not fail to enter into all the pro- 
ductions of his pen. The discussion is con- 
ducted throughout with absolute candor. No- 
where is there an attempt to forestall the 
judgment of the reader by raising a prejudice 
against an opinion that it is to be contro- 
verted. The doctrines and the reasonino^s of 
adversaries are fully and even forcibly stated. 
Vituperation is never substituted for evidence. 
Nothing in the way of objection that deserves 
consideration is passed by. The entire field 
suggested by the theme is traversed. What- 
ever dissent may arise in the reader's mind in 
reference to any of the positions which are 
taken by Professor Diman, or the reasons by 
which they are maintained, there can be, as I 
believe, among competent judges but one 
opinion as to the acuteness and vigor, as well 
as the learning and fairness with which the 
argument is pursued." 

Professor George Ide Chace, Mr. Diman's 
early instructor in metaphysics and philoso- 
phy, among the very last acts of his life 
wrote : — 

'' His grasp of the great theme is as com- 
prehensive as it is vigorous. His thought 
flows with a breadth of current attesting the 



THE TH El STIC ARGUMENT, 329 

amplitude and fullness of its source. As the 
stream moves onward, affluents are continually 
swelling its volume. Everywhere along its 
course evidences of a fertile and abundantly 
watered land present themselves. With him 
theology has no barren deserts. Wherever 
his foot presses, flowers spring up, and a beau- 
tiful landscape spreads around. His way lies 
through a continual succession of oases. His 
large stores of knowledge, his rare command 
of language, and his unequalled power of 
drawing from the most varied sources illustra- 
tions of singular aptness and beauty, enable 
him to invest every step of his great argument 
with a marvelous interest, and to carry the 
reader along with him a willing captive to the 
end. 

" Some of the positions assumed by Mr. 
Diman in the progress of the discussion will 
scarcely bear a rigid examination. It is prob- 
able that his own maturer judgment would 
have led him to modify them. The marvel, 
however, is that an extended course of lec- 
tures, on a subject outside of his special de- 
partment of instruction in the University, and 
involving some of the most difficult questions 
in philosophy, should have been prepared on 
so brief notice, with so little in them open to 



330 MEMOIRS. 

just and fair criticism. Even where there is 
error, it is graced by so much beauty, and is 
so instinct with right feeling, that we are 
ready to adopt the sentiment of the great 
Roman orator, and exclaim, ' Errare, meher- 
cule, malo cum Platone, quam comistes, vera 
sentire.' " 

Professor Chace, it will be noticed, has a 
slightly different estimate of some of the con- 
clusions of the volume from that of Professor 
Fisher, or of Mr. Rowland Hazard, who pre- 
pared a careful review of the work for the 
Friday Evening Club. 

" I read the proofs," writes Mr. Hazard, 
" as it was passing through the press, and as 
I read I seemed to hear his voice in the ca- 
dence of the sentences. I have read the book 
again ; I have studied it ; and I am more and 
more impressed with the strong logic, the 
great ability with which the argument is pre- 
sented, and the flow, the rhythm, the eloquence 
of the style. The personality of the author 
has impressed itself upon the printed page, 
and I lay down the book with regret, unwill- 
ing to quit his presence. . . . 

'' Within the present century a great change 
has taken place in the method of dealing with 



THE THEISTIC ARGUMENT. 331 

the questions here discussed. What was for- 
merly approached from the metaphysical side 
is now regarded from the physical or mate- 
rial. Problems which the older philosophy 
grappled with the aid of pure reason are now 
sought to be solved in the laboratory of the 
chemist. So great has been the change in the 
current of philosophic thought that the old 
land-marks of belief have appeared to be in 
danger of being swept entirely away. The 
alarm has been general and widespread. The 
position of the advocates of the new philoso- 
phy has been too frequently misunderstood, 
and the unauthorized utterances of a few un- 
balanced ultraists have been taken for the 
teachings of a school. As a consequence, the 
impression has become general that the tend- 
ency of modern science is toward infidelity, 
toward the unsettling of the most venerated 
beliefs which have come down to us through 
the ages. The holders of these beliefs, thus 
suddenly attacked with strange weapons, have 
been thrown into confusion, and in their eager- 
ness to repel the assault they have frequently 
wounded their friends. 

" From time to time some cooler spirit has 
examined with care the armory of this new 
school of philosophy, and has pointed out the 



332 MEMOIRS. 

harmlessness of the weapons which have cre- 
ated the greatest consternation. But the 
books containing the results of such examina- 
tions have been for the most part adapted to 
the use of scholars. They have been too ab- 
stract for the general reader. Without any 
disparagement to such valuable works as 
Janet's ^ Final Causes/ Flint's 'Theism' 
and ' Anti-Theistic Theories/ and Herbert's 
' Realism Examined/ I think it safe to say 
that a book was needed which should bring 
the subject within the reach of any reader of 
common intelligence. This need has been sup- 
plied by the work of Professor Diman. It 
has been supplied in a most admirable manner. 
It is not too much to say that there is no book 
in the English language which contains in so 
small a compass, and so agreeable a style, such 
an accurate and candid statement of the 
course of human thought on the great ques- 
tion of the existence of God. This alone 
would be high praise ; but when it must be 
added that the book also contains a most 
forcible and logical presentation of the Theis- 
tic argument, unfolded, as it were, from this 
history of human thought, in eloquent and de- 
lio-htful diction, it seems to me that we have 
a book of no common order." 



LOWELL INSTITUTE LECTURES. 333 

The lectures were twelve in number, and 
were finished by the end of February. The 
fourth of the course, on " The Argument from 
Order," was read before the Friday Evening 
Club in November. They were delivered in 
Huntington Hall, Boston, beginning on Tues- 
day evening, February 24, 1880, and continu- 
ing Tuesday and Friday evenings until the 
conclusion of the course. As they began at 
half-past seven o'clock, Mr. Diman went to 
Boston in the afternoon, returning to Provi- 
dence after the lecture, and gave his usual 
college lecture at half-past nine the next 
morning. 

He did his work with such ease, and made 
so light of it himself, that the accomplishment 
of all this did not at the time seem remarkable 
to his friends. But the strain was beginning 
to tell upon him. In reply to an invitation 
to deliver an oration before the University of 
Michigan, he wrote : — 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Providence, March 10, 1880. 

I have delayed longer than I should have 

done to answer your letter, hoping to see my 

way clear to accept an invitation which would 

give me so pleasant an opportunity both of 



334 MEMOIRS. 

visiting you and of seeing your great Univer- 
sity ; but there are some indications which 
seem to render it advisable to give up extra 
work for the present, and as I have an engage- 
ment already on my hands, I had come to the 
conclusion to write you, and decline the invi- 
tation. 

How fully Mr. Diman gave his sympathy to 
his friends is shown from the fact, that, al- 
though the night before this letter was writ- 
ten he had delivered the fifth in his course of 
lectures, there is not a word of his own work, 
but the rest of the letter is filled with coii° 
gratulations and inquiries concerning the ap- 
pointment as Minister to China his friend had 
just received. 

The Lowell lectures ended March 30, and 
in April and May a course of six lectures was 
given on the same subject to the Friday morn- 
ing History class, in Mrs. Goddard's parlors. 
In these six lectures Mr. Diman put the sub- 
stance of the whole course, freeing the theme 
from all possible technicalities, and presenting 
the subject in. the simplest and yet most com- 
prehensive manner. 

In May and June Mr. Diman delivered to 
the Normal School a course of five lectures on 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 335 

the Constitutional History of the United States, 
— a continuation of the subject of the previous 
year. These lectures are considered by com- 
petent judges the most remarkable Mr. Diman 
ever delivered. 

His practice of using only the briefest notes, 
which made his lectures so effective, and made 
each listener feel he was directly spoken to, 
is now our loss, for it is impossible to repro- 
duce them. Some idea of their wide scope, 
and the general treatment of the theme, may 
be gained from Mr. W. E. Foster's admirable 
list of references, prepared to accompany the 
lectures.^ 

TO PRESIDENT GILMAN. 

Providence, April 29, 1880. 
It will give me great pleasure to accept 
the invitation which you have extended to me, 
to repeat my recent Lowell lectures at the 
Johns Hopkins University. I think, consider- 
ing the subject, it would be advisable to re- 
duce the course to ten lectures, and I should 
prefer, if possible, to come as before, at the 
time of our spring recess. 

^ Economic Tracts No. II., series of 1880-81 : Political 
Economy and Political Science j The United States Constitu- 
tion, p. 24. 



336 MEMOIRS. 

Warned by symptoms of fatigue that a 
complete change was necessary during the va- 
cation, after one or two short visits, Mr. Di- 
man joined his friends, Rev. J. 0. Murray and 
Mr. Rowland Hazard, in a stay in the Maine 
woods. From there they wrote to the fourth 
friend, who usually completed their party. 

TO HONORABLE JAMES B. ANGELL, PEKING, 

CHINA. 

Rangeley Lakes, ) 

Camp Kennebago, August 15, 1880. ) 

May it please your Excellency : Here we 
are, the old party, saving yourself, and as we 
are debarred by the laws of God from fishing 
to-day, we could think of nothing better than 
writing to you. I might add, that as the laws 
of Maine forbid our fishing on all other days 
in any place where trout are likely to be found, 
we might just as well spend the remaining 
days of the week in literary employment. 
Yesterday we were coming across the lake, 

when we fell in with Dr. M , the one who 

was so eminent as a surgeon. We asked what 
luck he had found, and he replied with con- 
siderable emphasis : " Two days, and not a 
darned bite." This is a pretty fair description 
of sport in these famous fishing grounds dm*- 



TROUT FISHING. 337 

ing the month of August. R and F 

fished two days with no success. After Mur- 
ray and I came, the luck began. I have taken 
the largest fish thus far. We had no scales 

to weigh him, but fortunately R sat in 

the stern, so the boat was not dragged under. 
Yesterday we caught fifteen fish, and also a 
good drenching. The latter was more equally 
distributed through the party than the former, 
as I took no fish, but considerable water. . . . 
We are having a capital time, and as we gather 
at night about our blazing fire of logs, we 
think much of you and of the pleasant days 
of old. If good wishes w^ould assure success, 
you will not fail. 

REV. J. O. MURRAY TO PRESIDENT ANGELL. 

Camp Kennebago, August 15, 1880. 
Diman, by some hocus-pocus, managed to 
hook a trout on Friday. I saw him the mo- 
ment before he did it. He was much more 
surprised than the trout. But since then he 
has been talking often of the Apostles. He 
seems to think he is lineally descended from 
one of them. He has put on airs. Hazard has 
done his best to tone him down. So have I. 
All in vain. If you were out here, I should 
have some hopes ; as it is, all we could do was 



338 MEMOIRS. 

to eat his trout and take him yesterday on a 
wet expedition. But we must give him up. 

The trout here disdain flies. As Lewis 
phrases it, vermicular fishing is what succeeds. 
So if you can get any hints on that subject 
from the Chinese fishermen, send them on to 
us. I read aloud to Hazard and Diman to- 
day Renan's lecture on Marcus Aurelius. I 
thought the old Roman's splendid patience 
and submission to the inevitable would pre- 
pare them for fishermen's luck to-morrow. 

Refreshed by the summer's rest, Mr. Diman 
returned to his work with all his accustomed 
vigor. The engagement on his hands to which 
he referred was the oration at the Bi-Centen- 
nial Celebration of the Settlement of Mount 
Hope. This was delivered September 24th, 
and was one of his most successful addresses. 
It was given entirely without notes, with an 
eloquence and dignity that delighted his 
hearers.^ 

Four days after this oration, Mr. Diman ad- 
dressed a ward meetino^ in Providence. It 
was in the days of the Garfield and Hancock 
campaign. His speech was reported in full, 
and excited universal attention throughout 

^ Orations and Essays. 



POLITICAL DUTY. 339 

the State. The " Scholar in Politics " he was 
called. The opening of the address is of 
more than transient interest, marking, as it 
does, Mr. Diman's convictions of pohtical duty. 



a 



I am not here to-night simply in response 
to a courteous invitation, but I am here in 
obedience to my own sincere and deep con- 
viction of duty. Those of you who have 
known me in other relations — some of you 
as a teacher — will no doubt remember that I 
have always insisted on the paramount duty 
of every citizen in a free State to take a per- 
sonal share in political affairs. I hold that 
no man, no matter how high his position, no 
matter what his official or personal relations, 
can count himself released from this sacred 
responsibility. We are here as members of a 
great and common country. We are all of us 
charged with duties, as citizens of a free 
State, than which no duties in this life can 
be more responsible and more sacred. I hold 
that no man has a right to lay these duties 
aside. Let us remember that this government 
under which we live, which we have vowed to 
support, and of which we are so justly proud, 
is a government of public opinion. The gov- 
erning power here is the public sentiment of 



340 MEMOIRS. 

the nation. There is no power behind this, and 
there can be none. The seat of our govern- 
ment is not that majestic building whose dome 
rises above the Capitol of our country, an ob- 
ject of admiration from afar. There is simply 
carried out the administrative business of the 
nation. The real governing power is not 
there J but here. It is in assemblages just like 
this, — assemblages of intelligent freemen, met 
for free discussion, met to influence each other 
by rational argument. Here we found the 
foundation and the safeguard of our whole 
national system. I say we are a government 
of public opinion, and in public opinion the 
only power that ought to prevail is the power 
of reason and of argument ; and I am proud 
to-night to stand before an assembly which 
acknowledges no other control and no other 
influence than these. And I hold, that in a 
crisis like this, and with regard to questions 
like those that bring us here to-night, every 
one of us is bound to have an opinion." 

Then followed a strong denunciation of 
" that wicked, pernicious, and damnable doc- 
trine introduced by Andrew Jackson, that ' to 
the victors belong the spoils,' " and a clear 
discussion of the issues of the campaign. 



REVISION OF LOWELL LECTURES. 341 

TO PRESIDENT OILMAN. 

Providence, October 23, 1880. 
. . . Our recess next spring will begin on 
Saturday, March 26tii. Can you let me begin 
on Monday the 28th, and occupy the two fol- 
lowing weeks ? There will be, you remember, 
but ten lectures. 

TO PRESIDENT OILMAN. 

Providence, December 3, 1880. 
I inclose a list of the topics included in my 
lectures. It is a source of sincere regret to 
me that I cannot arrange to give them earlier 
in the season, but my engagements here are of 
such a nature that I feel compelled to reduce 
my period of absence to the least possible 
limit. 

The list of lectures sent with this note omits 
the second and eleventh of the Lowell lectures, 
on the Relativity of Knowledge, and The Al- 
ternative Theories. 

The lectures to the ladies' classes, of which 
two were formed, began on the seventh of 
December. The course was to be on the Nine- 
teenth Century. The reasons for studying it 
Mr. Diman's notes give : — ^^ It is the comple- 



342 MEMOIRS. 

tion of our course from the outset, — a ten 
years' course, which began with the dawn of 
Modern History. We have traced its great 
phases, and now come to its last results. What 
does it teach ? The knowledge of our own 
age is the most important. We must study 
the past to comprehend the present. This is 
its highest use. The present can only be un- 
derstood by showing its whole growth, for the 
present is the product of the past. 

"We shall not make a detailed study of the 
nineteenth century, but select its salient points 
in its chief aspects, politically and intellect- 
ually. We shall also study its leading men, 
— the statesmen who have played a creative 
part, and the thinkers. There are two diffi- 
culties in studying our own age : its complex- 
ity and the lack of perspective. Three ques- 
tions must be asked : What is evolution in 
History ? Is there progress in History ? Is 
this progress moral ? Man's whole nature is 
involved. ' Human Destiny is the great lesson 
of History. The nineteenth century gives 
the last answer to this problem." 

The lecture continued with a survey of Eu- 
rope at the time of Napoleon's appearance. 
His career was traced in subsequent lectures, 
his overthrow, and the regeneration of Prussia 



NINETEENTH CENTURY LECTURES. 343 

through the agency of Stein. Metternich, and 
the Congress of Vienna ; Talleyrand, and the 
Restoration ; Alexander I., and the Holy Al- 
liance, had each a lecture devoted to them. 
The notes for these lectures are unusually 
full. The complexity of the subject seemed 
only to stimulate Mr. Diman's powers. The 
reaction and interdependence of the various 
political movements were shown, so that his 
hearers received a clear idea of the whole pro- 
gress of Europe. 

In spite of the summer's rest, and the ap- 
parent renewal of perfect health, those who 
knew Mr. Diman best thought him looking 
not quite well, and his work dragged a little 
upon him. But so great was his buoyancy 
of spirit, he proceeded to new duties, as the 
following letter shows. The two Lowell lec- 
tures delivered in Manning Hall many will 
remember. 

TO PRESIDENT ANGELL, PEKING, CHINA. 

Providence, January 19, 1881. 
It is hard to think of you so far away in 
Peking, especially when I recall the years, 
that now seem so far back, of our college life, 
when you and Murray, and R. and I, were all 
dreamins: of the future too^ether in Univer- 



344 MEMOIRS. 

sity Hall. Whatever higli hopes we may have 
had, I do not think it entered the thoughts 
of any one of us that you would one day 
negotiate a treaty with the Emperor of China. 

The season has passed thus far very quietly 
with us. ... I have had nothing to break my 
own routine save the celebration at Bristol, 
which was conceived and carried out in admi- 
rable style. I think I have now done quite 
enough of local celebrating, and propose to 
leave it alone for the future. In my college 
work I have had a little change in an elective 
class in Roman law. I gave the subject a 
broader treatment than Woolsey, and became 
much interested in the study. A new depart- 
ure at college has been a course of evening 
lectures by the professors, which have been 
well attended by ladies and gentlemen, and 
have been very well received. I gave two of 
my Lowell lectures. I am to repeat the whole 
course in Baltimore in April. 

I have been busy with reading, but have 
come across no book of exceptional interest. 
I have my ladies' classes as usual, and am busy 
with the history of the nineteenth century. 

January 28th Mr. Diman gave a lecture to 
the ladies on the attitude of England, which 



LAST LECTURE. 345 

had acted with Austria and Russia, but now 
through the influence of one statesman inau- 
gurated a more Hberal policy. How the class 
were made to sympathize in the wide views of 
Canning, with his generous aid to Portugal, 
and cordial recognition of the South American 
States ! And how brilliantly did Mr. Diman 
describe Canning's wit, the amiability of his 
private life, his devotion to his mother, and 
with what feeling dwell on his premature 
death, in the midst of his brilliant career ! 
Who among his listeners could imagine that 
so kindred a fate awaited Mr. Diman himself ? 
At the time of delivering the lecture he was 
suffering severe pain, and returned home im- 
mediately after, never to leave his house again. 
That same evening the Friday Evening Club 
met with him. With his accustomed self-for- 
getfulness he ignored his own suffering, so 
that all, except the few members who knew 
him best, thought him as well and brilliant as 
ever. The next day he was not able to leave 
the house, though no alarm was felt till the 
following Tuesday, when what was at first 
considered trifling developed alarming symp- 
toms. Anxious inquiries were constantly 
made for him. On Thursday afternoon, Feb- 
ruary 3d, his Senior class sent him flowers, 



346 MEMOIRS. 

which he was able to receive with pleasure, 
though they learned he was very ill. A couple 
of hours after, while the dusky red of the 
winter sunset was still in the sky, word came 
that he was dead. 

Friends gathered from far and near early in 
the following week, to pay a last tribute of 
affection. The best and wisest in the city and 
State, and from other cities and States, came 
to honor him. 

In the House of Representatives, on Mon- 
day, February 7th, Mr. Shefi&eld of Newport 
made mention of the great loss the city and 
State had sustained, and moved the adjourn- 
ment of the House to attend his funeral. Other 
gentlemen followed, bearing testimony to his 
worth. The speaker, Mr. Henry J. Spooner, 
said : " His life and his labors were largely 
devoted to the advancement of many of our 
most important public interests, and nearly 
allied to the public weal. The motion before 
the House seems an appropriate recognition of 
our appreciation of the loss to the State." 
The House then adjourned, — a most unusual, 
if not unprecedented, occurrence in the case 
of a private citizen. 

The beautiful service of the Episcopal 
Church was the only one used, and the pall- 



DEATH. 347 

bearers were selected from the Senior class 
which so lately had heard him lecture. Under 
a peaceful sky and the pure snows of winter, 
all that was mortal was laid to rest in Swan 
Point Cemetery. 

Few have been so deeply loved, or so heart- 
ily and widely mourned. How true are his 
own words, written of one who was dear to 
him : " Our only consolation is in the thought 
that the life which to our blinded vision 
seems so suddenly blasted, in the sight of God 
was ripened and complete." 



A stately sTiip sailed brave and free 
Upon the sparkling summer sea, 
The light winds blew caressingly. 

The same winds blew a summer cloudy 
Soft, tvhite, and warm, a lovely shroud 
Enfolding waves that ivere too proud. 

On came the ship, the cloud she cleftf 
It parted ; then like one bereft, 
Closed over ally no sea was left. 

A moment still the spotless sails 

Are bright with sunshine ; naught avails. 

She hastens on, till all sight fails. 

Gone, gone ! we say, and draw a sigh. 
What, gone f my spirit makes reply. 
Because we see not, you and I? 

Who knows her new and vast expanse 
Of sunlit sea, where wavelets dance. 
And stars are aiding her advance. 

If we but see with eyes of faith. 
If ive could hear, the Spirit saith — 
The sea is Life, the cloud is Death. 



LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 

The Theistic Argument as affected by Recent Theo- 
ries. A course of lectures delivered at the Lowell In- 
stitute in Boston. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1881. 

Orations and Essays, with selected Parish Sermons. 
Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1882. 

Orations and Essays : The Alienation of the Educated 
Class from Politics. The Method of Academic 
Culture. Address at the Unveiling of the Monu- 
ment to Roger Williams. The Settlement of Mount 
Hope. Sir Harry Vane. Religion in America, 
North American Review, January, 1876. Univer- 
sity Corporations, Baptist Quarterly, October, 1869. 
Sermons : The Son of Man. Christ, the Way, the 
Truth, and the Life. Christ the Bread of Life. 
Christ in the Power of His Resurrection. The 
Holy Spirit the Guide to Truth. The Baptism of 
the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of Heaven, and 
the Kingdom of Nature. 
Dr. Grant and the Mountain Nestorians. New Eng- 
lander, August, 1853. Early Christianity in China. 
New Englander, November, 1853. 

Review of " The Signs of the Times," by Baron Bun- 
sen. Bibliotheca Sacra. April, 1856. 

Life through Death. A Sermon. Monthly Religious 
Magazine. January, 1861. 

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Doctrine unto Life. 



350 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 

A Sermon, in the Monthly Religious Magazine. Sep- 
tember, 1863. 

Follow Me. A Sermon. Monthly Religious Magazine. 
March, 1864. 

The Nation and the Constitution. An Oration before 
the City Authorities of Providence. July 4, 1866. 

Master John Cotton's Answer to Master Roger Wil- 
liams. Edited by J. L. Diman. March, 1867. Publi- 
cations of the Narragansett Club. Vol. II. 

The Christian Scholar. A Discourse in Commemora- 
tion of the Rev. Robinson Potter Dunn, Professor of 
Rhetoric and English Literature. Delivered at the re- 
quest of the Faculty, in the Chapel of Brown University, 
October 16, 1867. 

The Late President Wayland. Atlantic Monthly. 
January, 1868. 

The Method of Academic Culture. An Oration before 
the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at Amherst College, July 
6, 1869. Published in the New Englander, October, 
1869. (Orations and Essays.) 

De Costa. Discovery of America. North American 
Eeview. Vol. 109. July, 1869. 

University Corporations. Baptist Quarterly. October, 
1869. (Orations and Essays.) 

The Historical Basis of Belief. A lecture in the 
Boston Lectures on Christianity and Scepticism. Bap- 
tist Quarterly. April, 1870. 

English School Life. American Quarterly Church 
Review. October, 1871. 

The Roman Element in Modern Civilization. New 
Englander. January, 1872. 

Meline's Mary Queen of Scots. North American Re- 
view. Vol. 114. January, 1872. 

George Fox Digg'd out of his Burrowes. Edited 



LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 351 

by J. L. Diman. 1872. Publications of the Narragan- 
sett Club. Vol. V. 

Fisher's The Reformation. North American Review. 
Vol. 116. April, 1873. 

Motley's John of Barneveld. North American Re- 
view. Vol. 119. October, 1874. 

Bancroft's Native Races of the Pacific Coast. North 
American Review. Vol. 121. October, 1875. 

Reliction in America. North American Review. Vol. 
122. January, 1876. (Orations and Essays.) 

The Alienation of the Educated Class from Politics. 
An Oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at Cam- 
bridge, June 29, 1876. (Orations and Essays.) 

The Capture of General Prescott by Lieutenant-Col- 
onel William Barton. An Address delivered at the 
Centennial Celebration of the Exploit at Portsmouth, 
Rhode Island, July 10, 1877. Published, with notes, as 
No. 1 of Rider's Rhode Island Historical Tracts. 

Address at the Unveiling of the Monument to Roger 
Williams erected by the City of Providence, October 
16, 1877. (Orations and Essays.) 

Address at the Dedication of the Rogers Free Library 
in Bristol, Rhode Island, January 12, 1878. Provi- 
dence : Sidney S. Rider. 

Dr. Woolsey's Political Science. New Englander. 
May, 1878. 

The Settlement of Mount Hope. An Address. Sep- 
tember 24, 1880. (Orations and Essays.) 

LIST OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE "NATION." 

July 16, 1877. No. 633. Baptists and Quakers. 
MaV 23, 1878. No. 673. Masson's Milton. Vols. 
IV. and V. 



352 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. 

June 27, 1878. No. 678. Bauer's Einfluss des Eng- 
lischen Quakerthums auf die Deutsche Cultur. 

March 6, 1879. No. 714. Mozley's Essays. 

July 24, 1879. No. 734. Gladstone's Gleanings. 

June 24, 1880. No. 782. Fisher's Historical Dis- 
cussions. 

Sept. 16, 1880. No. 794. Dexter's Congregation- 
alism. 

Nov. 11, 1880. No. 802. Crawfurd's Portugal. 

Dec. 9, 1880. No. 806. HiUebrand's German 
Thought. 

Feb. 3, 1881. No. 814. Note on the Wampanoags. 

UNPUBLISHED " CLUB PAPERS." 

April 24, 1868. The Representation of Minorities. 

April 19, 1872. The Position of Albrecht Durer as 
an Artist. 

Nov. 7, 1873. Saracenic Architecture in Spain. 

Nov. 6, 1874. Spanish Artists. 

Nov. 3, 1876. The Relation of the Ottoman Power 
to European Politics. 

Dec. 21, 1877. Phases of Political Thought in 
America. 



INDEX. 



Abbotsfokd, 106. 

Abhorrence of vizlgarity, 227. 

Academic duties, 199. 

Accepts nnvitation to lecture at Balti- 
more, 310; to lecture before the 
Lowell Institute, 315. 

Address at opening of Rogers Free 
Library, 311 ; at the unveiling of the 
statue of Roger Williams, 308. 

Adirondacks, 243. 

^jchylus, 142. 

Affectations, Pharisaical, 51. 

Alcazar, 288. 

Alchemy of a daily communion, 133, 

Alden, Rev. Charles H. , 13. 

Alden, Mrs., 10. 

Alden, Miss, recollections by, 9. 

Alexander I., 343. 

Alexander Borgia, 22. 

Alienation of the educated class from 
politics, 303. 

Allen, George E., 54. 

Althaus, 94. 

Ambition for scholarship, 242. 

Ambition, to guard against, 48. 

Ambrose, 196. 

American Board, 104. 

American Quarterly Church Review, 
article in, 255. 

Amherst Oration, 228 

Analysis of lecture on Gustavus Adol- 
phus, 269. 

Analysis of lecture, 265. 

Andover, doubts and fears, 52. 

Andover, 51 ; address at, 231. 

Andover Library, 60. 

Andrea del Sarto, 85. 

Anecdotes in lectures, 226. 

Angel, fallen, 291. 

Angell, Prest. James B. , 35 ; editor 
Providence Journal, 171 ; in Bur- 
lington, 198; in Ann Arbor, 278; 
joins party in the Adirondacks, 243 ; 
letters to, 42, 46, 50, 52, 55, 157, 
161, 199, 202, 228, 235, 237, 238, 242, i 
254, 257, 259, 268, 276, 278, 281, 289, i 
292, 293, 294, 295, 304, 309, 310, 311, i 
316, 333, 336, 343 ; letter from J. O. i 
Murray, 337. 

Anhalt, 179. 

Anmeldebuch, 69. 

Annals, our own, 324. 



Annapolis, 321. 

Anthony, George N., 54, 58. 

Anthony, Senator, 301. 

Anxiety, season of, 155. 

Apennines, ride across, 283. 

Apology, Barclay's, 115. 

Apostles, to tread in the footsteps of 
the, 52. 

Apostolic Fathers, 111. 

Architecture, 219. 

Argument, Theistic, lectures on, 325. 

Argyle, Duke of, 183. 

Aristophanes, " Birds," 45. 

Aristotle, illustration from, 72. 

Arlington Street Church, Boston, let- 
ters from, 256. 

Arnold, Dr., 203. 

Art, sympathies in, 263. 

Articles, holiday, 191. 

Artists, Rhode Island, 182. 

Associates, need of, 50. 

Astronomy, 39. 

Asylum, Sunday service, 49. 

Atlantic Monthly, the late President 
Wayland, 25. 

Atmosphere of seminary, 53. 

Atonement, 150. 

Atonement, objective nature of, 87. 

Attwood, Dr., 58. 

Audience at Baltimore, 319. 

Augsburg, 86. 

Augustine, 113. 

Authorities on the History, 216. 

Authority, limits of, 199 ; original, 157. 

Awakening faculty, 227. ' 

Bacon, Francis, 205. 

Bacon, Dr. Leonard Woolsey, recollec- 
tions by, 59. 

Baltimore, letters from, 319 ; prepara- 
tion for, 316. 

Bancroft, Lucius, 54, 58. 

Baptismal font, 112. 

Barcelona, 286. 

Barrows, Professor, 55. 

Beggars in Berlin, 95. 

Bellows, Dr. H. W., sermons, 126. 

Beneficent Cong. Church, 156. 

Berkeley, Bishop, 182. 

Berlin University, 93. 

Berwick, 106. 

Bible-class of boys, 49. 



354 



INDEX. 



Bibliotheca Sacra, article in, 98. 

Birds, Aristophanes, 45. 

Birthday, 25th, 105. 

Birthplace, 7 ; love of, 190. 

Bishop, L. A., 16. 

Blunt's "History of the Reforma- 
tion," 240. 

Books, knowledge of, 27. 

Borden, Capt. Thomas, 9. 

Bossuet, 206. 

Boston, landed in, 107. 

Bourgereau, 277. 

Bowen, Earl P., 16. 

Braunschweig (Brunswick), 81. 

Bremen, 64, 80. 

Brenchley parish register, 2. 

Briefs for Thirty Years' War lectures, 
317. 

Bristol Cong. Church, 112. 

Bristol, situation, 1. 

Brocken, The, 67. 

Brookline, Harvard Congregational 
Church, 131. 

Brothers' Society, 38. 

Brougham, Lord, 177. 

Brown, Buckminster. 256. 

Brown University, 57 ; enters, 19 ; 
graduated from, 42 ; offer of a pro- 
fessorship in, 143 ; after from, ac- 
cepted, 153 ; Degree from, 240. 

Brownson, O., 200. 

Brunswick, 64. 

Buckle, 209. 

Bunsen, 87; conversations with, 89; 
Baptists and Congregationalists, 90 ; 
at Heidelberg, 91 ; personal appear- 
ance, 92 ; recollections of, 240. 

Burlington, oration in, 229. 

Bushnell, Horace, admired, 24 ; letters 
from, 116, 118, 119 ; letters to, 118, 
121. 

Butler's Analogy, 29. 

Byron, Life and Letters, 115. 

Caldwell, De. Samuel L., 163 ; paper 
by, 295 ; recollections by, 298. 

Call to Fall River accepted, 109. 

Call to other churches, 116. 

Call from Hartford, Dr. Bushnell's sat- 
isfaction in, 119. 

Call to Hartford declined, 121. 

Call to Harvard Cong. Church, 131. 

Call to College of the City of New 
York, 235. 

Call to Harvard University, 235, 238. 

Call to University of Wisconsin, 241. 

Call to Princeton, 255. 

Call to Second Church, Boston, 292. 

Call to Johns Hopkms University, 304. 

Calvin, 196. 

Canning, lecture on, 345. 

Capture of Prescott, 308. 

Carlyle, 261. 

Cars, Sunday, 165. 

Cat, Dr. Bushnell's, 120. 



Cathedrals, 232. 

Catherine de Medicis, 180. 

Celebrating, local, 344. 

Cemetery, Swan Point, 347. 

Central Church, Boston, 231. 

Chace, Prof. G. I., recollections by, 28. 

Chace, George I., 164, labors ended, 
277 ; on Theistic Argument, 328. 

Changes, sudden, 114. 

C banning, 90. 

Charge, FaU River, resigned, 129. 

Charity, thrice blessed, 167 ; Sisters 
of, 180. 

Chatsworth, 106. 

Chesterfield, Lord, 21. 

Chicago, 158. 

Children, two, bom, l40 ; 282 ; Chil- 
dren in the hospital, 308. 

Christ, the ideal man, 87 ; Person of, 
87 ; Humanity of, 135 ; Tholuck on 
Life of, 70. 

Christening, 65. 

Christianity, emphatically a Life, 256 ; 
early, in China, 61. 

Christmas 1868, 195. 

Church, Congregational, Bristol, 12. 

Church, a free, 189. 

Church, Park Congregational, Hart- 
ford, 278. 

Church, Greek, Venice, 286. 

Church, Second, in Boston, 292. 

Church's Parthenon, 277. 

Clarendon, 128. 

Classical Oration, The Living Princi- 
ples of Literature, 32, 42. 

Class studies, the monotony of, 57. 

"Clericus," 163. 

Club, Friday Evenmg, 296. 

Club of six ministers, 142. 

Coaster's Island, Sunday services, 49. 

Coldness, relapses into, 52. 

Coleridge, 57. 

Colleague with Dr. Bushnell, 116. 

College prayer meetings, 36. 

College life, spiritual advantages of, 46. 

College of the City of New York, offer 
of presidency, 235. 

College work, 154. 

Colonial History, 228. 

Commencement, 42, 293, 311. 

Committee from Hartlord, 119 ; from 
Arlington Street Church, 256. 

Commonplace Book, 19. 

Commons, House of, 174. 

Commonwealth, man owes the, 194. 

Communion Service of the Episcopal 
Church, 115. 

Conceptions, growth of, 202. 

Congregationalism, tendency of, 48 ; 
division in, 132, 148. 

Consecration, 46. 

Consolation, 347- 

Constituents of history, 207. 

Constitution, spiritual, of the race, 136. 

Constitution of United States, 222. 



INDEX. 



355 



Content in this life, 115. 

Controversies, 147. 

Controversy, turning from, 129. 

Conversations, 298. 

Conviction under enigmas, 300. 

Cordova, 287. 

Cotton's Answer to Williams, 162. 

Council, Brookline, 140. 

Cowes, 80. 

Criminal law, Mittermaier on, 87. 

Critics, 171. 

Crowne, 191. 

Crusaders, 266. 

Darwin, Charles, 326. 

Dates, 218. 

D'Aubign^, 20. 

Daughter, his, 166. 

Day, duty every, 52. 

"Day of Doom, the," 184. 

Days, swifter than a weaver's shuttle, 
168. 

Deaf-mute education, 190. 

Death, 346. 

De Civitate, 122. 

Decrees, federal, 178 

Deer hunt on the Raquette, 243-253. 

Degree of D. D., 240, 

De Maistre, 129. 

De Normandie James, 260. 

Departure from Brunswick, 67. 

Derwentwater, 106. 

Descart, 267. 

Development, 210. 

De Wolf, Mrs. CD., recollections by, 
14. 

De Wolf, Winthrop, 16. 

Diamond, 2. 

Dickens, Charles, 186. 

" Dies Irae," 184. 

Difficulties, 56 ; conquering, 327. 

Diman, Dimont, Diment, 2. 

Diman, name, how derived, 2. 

Diman, Jeremiah, 2. 

Diman, Deacon, Jeremiah, 2. 

Diman, Byron, 4 ; historical tastes, 5 ; 
letter to, 74. 

Diman, Mrs. B., 6. 

Diman, Henry W., 90 ; letter to, 143. 

Diman, Mrs. J. L., letters to, 282, 319. 

Diman, J. L., birth, 3 ; birthplace, 7 ; 
his " call," 17 ; enters Brown Uni- 
versity, 19 ; unites with First Church 
in Bristol, 25 ; resolves to fit him- 
self for the ministry, 37 ; graduation 
from Brown, 42; studies in New- 
port, 42 ; enters Andover Seminary, 
52; sails for Europe, 62; lands at 
Bremen, 64 ; arrives in Brunswick, 
64 ; arrives in Halle, 67 ; matricu- 
lates at University of Halle, 68 ; at- 
tends lectures at Halle, 70 ; leaves 
Halle, 77 ; visits Dresden Gallery, 
84 ; visits Munich Pinacothek, 85 ; 
matriculates at University of Heidel- 



berg, 86 ; calls upon Bunsen, 89 ; 
walks in Switzerland, 93 ; visits • 
Dresden again, 93 ; matriculates at 
University of Barlin, 94 ; finishes 
first sermon, 96 ; visits Wittenberg 
and Weimar, 100 ; visits Eisenach 
and Waterloo, 101 ; arrives in Paris, 
101 ; visits the gallery of the Louvre, 
103 ; arrives in London, 103 ; hears 
Maurice, 103 ; travels in England 
and Scotland, 106 ; reaches home, 
107 ; licensed to preach, 108 ; called 
to Old South Church, 108; ac- 
cepts call to Fall River, 109; ap- 
proached on behalf of the Huguenot 
Church, Charleston, 116; the Mer- 
cer St. Church and Shawmut Street 
Church, 116 ; called to Hartford, 116 ; 
corresponds with Dr. Bushnell, 116 ; 
declines call to Hartford, 121 ; love 
of the office of preacher, 123 ; dis- 
turbance of ideas, 125 ; resigns pas- 
torate of Fall River Church, 129 ; 
mxrried to Miss E. Gr. Stimson, 131 ; 
accepts call to Harvard Congrega- 
tional Church, Brookline, 131 ; ex- 
amined by installing council, 132 ; 
installed as pastor of Harvard Con- 
gregational Church, 140 ; desired 
by other churches, 140 ; exchanges 
pulpits with Dr. Rufus Ellis, 141 ; 
called to a professorship in Brown 
University, 143 ; accepts call to 
Brown, 153; moves to Providence, 

153 ; lectures on political economy, 

154 ; edits John Cotton's Answer to 
Roger Williams, 157; goes to Chi- 
cago, 158 ; delivers discourse in 
commemoration of Professor Dunn, 
163 ; writes article on Sunday cars, 
165 ; writes for Providence Daily 
Journal, 171 ; on English politics, 
173 ; on German politics, 178 ; on 
Franco-Prussian war, 179 ; book re- 
views, 182 ; on a free church, 189 ; 
holiday articles, 191. Academic du- 
ties, 199 ; teaching of history, 203 ; 
plan of lectures, 217 ; oration on 
" The Method of Academic Cul- 
ture," 228; offered the presidency 
of the College of the City of New 
York, 235 ; oifered Hollis professor- 
ship in Harvard, 235 ; offer declined, 
238 ; lecture on the Historical Basis 
of Belief, 238 ; renewed offer from 
Harvard, 239 ; degree of D D. con- 
ferred by Brown University, 240 ; 
offered presidency of the University 
of Wisconsin, 241 ; elected to the 
school board, 242 ; vacation in the 
Adirondacks, 243 ; article in New 
Englander, 254 ; article in American 
Quarterly Church Review, 254 ; 
called to Princeton, 255 ; letter 
from the Arlington St. Church, 



356 



INDEX. 



Boston, 256 ; lectures at Normal 
School, 257 ; lectures to private 
classes, 259 ; lectures to eveuing 
classes, 272 ; lectiures at the Friends' 
School, 272 ; edits George Fox's 
" Digg'd out of liis Burrowes," 279 ; 
elected corresponding member of 
Massachusetts Historical Society, 
280 ; sails for Europe, 281 ; visits 
Italy, 283 ; visits Spain, 286 ; called to 
the Second Church in Boston, 292 ; 
delivers Phi Beta Kappa oration at 
Cambridge, 303 ; offered a profes- 
sorship in Johns Hopkins Univer- 
sity, 304 ; trustee of Reform School, 
306 ; trustee of Rhode Island Hospi- 
tal, 307 ; delivers oration on the 
capture of Prescott, 308 ; delivers 
oration at the unveiling of Roger 
Williams monument, 309 ; writes for 
the "Nation," 309 ; accepts invita- 
tion to lecture at Baltimore, 310 ; ac- 
cepts invitation to lecture before the 
Lowell Institute, 315 ; lectures in 
Baltimore, 317 ; lectures at normal 
school on American History, 323 ; 
prepares Lowell lectures, 325 ; ac- 
cepts invitation to lecture at the 
Johns Hopkins University, 335 ; va- 
cation in the Maine woods, 336 ; de- 
livers bi-centennial address at Bris- 
tol, 338 ; lectures to private classes 
on Nineteenth Century, 342 ; last 
lecture, 345 ; illness, 345 ; death, 
346. 

Discussion with candor, 328. 

Discussions, liberal, 172. 

Disraeli, 105, 175. 

Divisions of subjects, 225. 

Doctrine, meditating upon, 113. 

Dog, favorite visitor, 231. 

Dogmatic statements, 139. 

Dogmatics, Miiller on, 70. 

Domenichino, 85. 

Dominie (T, Thayer), 40, 42, 43, 46, 48, 
50, 294. 

Domkirche, Brunswick, 65. 

Dresden GaUery. 83, 93. 

Duchies, Elbe, 179. 

Dumont, 2 

Dunham and Owen, committee from 
Hartford, 119. 

Dunn, R. P., death of, 164. 

Dunn, Robinson Potter, commemo- 
ration of, 163. 

Diirer, Albrecht, 262. 

Durfee, Simeon B., 54. 

Duties, practical, 45. 

Duty, public, 204. 

Early Christianity in China, 61. 
Ea&thampton, Dimans at, 2. 
Eaton, Mrs. A. M., 260. 
Eclipse of the sun, 295. 
Economy, political, 289. 



Ecstasy, seraphic, 124. 

Edinburgh, 106. 

Edinburgh Review, 174. 

Editorials, 175; spirit of, 194. 

Editorials, veil of the, 172. 

Educated men, responsibility of, 222. 

Edwards, Jonathan, 11, 69, 147. 

Eichhorn, 262. 

Eisenach, 100. 

Element, intellectual. 47 ; spiritual, 

47. 
Eliot, Prest. C. W., letter to, 236, 238. 
Ellis, Dr. George E., 162. 
Ellis, Dr. Rufus, 140 ; letters to, 141, 

292. 
Elsethal, 82. 

Emerson, Miss T., letter to, 230. 
Emotions in religious life, 114. 
England, martial airs of, 195. 
English literature, 27. 
Enters Brown University, 19. 
Episcopal Church, Inclination toward, 

115, 
Erasmus, 220. 
Erdmann, Professor, 69 ; on History 

of Philosophy, 70 ; dinner with, 70 ; 

tea with, 72. 
Essex, South, Association, 108. 
Europe, sails for, 62, 281. 
European travel, 50. 
Ewald's History, 112. 
Examination, school, 66 ; strict, 131 ; 

severe, 157. 
Examinations, severe, 220. 
Exchange of pulpits with Unitarians, 

140. 
Experience, unity of one, 138. 
Experiences, lessons of by-gone. 

Facts of history, 213. 

Fall River pastorate resigned, 129. 

Family prayers, 48. 

Farrar, 200. 

Fast, college, 289. 

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 138. 

Fathers, folios of, 123. 

Federal idea, 200. 

Feudalism, 219. 

First Church, Bristol, unites with, 25. 

First Congregational Church, Fall 
River, 109 

First Congregational Society, Hart- 
ford, 140. 

First Church in Boston., 250th Anni- 
versary, 140. 

First sermon preached, 106. 

Fisher, Dr. George P., 158, 165 ; on the- 
ological position, 144 ; on Theistic 
Argument, 325 ; preface to Theistic 
Argument, 327. 

Fisherman's luck, 338. 

Fitzroy, Admiral, 249. 

Flageolet, one tune on the, 242. 

Flesh, the Logos in the, 87. 

Flint's "Theism," 326. 



INDEX. 



357 



Florence, 285. 

Folios of the Fathers, 123. 

Font, baptismal, 112. 

Fontinelle, 198. 

Foster, John, 113. 

Foster, W. E., reference list, 323, 335. 

Foundation, Apostolic, 141. 

Fourth of July, 191. 

Fox, George, digg'd out of his Bur- 
rowes, 279. 

Fever, typhoid, 30. 

Frankfort, 178. 

Frankfort Parliament, 76. 

Franklin, Frances, 3. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 3. 

Frederick William I., 222. 

Frederick the Great, 178. 

Freeman, E. A., 201. 

French History, 267. 

French Revolution, 268. 

Friday Evening Club, 296 ; last meet- 
ing with, 345. 

Friday morning History class, 261. 

Friends, Society of, 280. 

Friends' School, lectures at, 272. 

Fuller, Andrew, 46. 

Function of a newspaper, 172. 

Furness, Wm., 85. 

Future punishment, 151. 

Gammell, Prop. Wm., recollection by, 
30. 

Gaspee, 3. 

General truths of History, 212. 

Genesis, 112. 

Gerhardt, Paul, translation from, 88. 

German, study of, 43. 

German speculation, 87 ; politics, 178. 

Gilman, President D. C. , offer of pro- 
fessorship, 304 ; on lectures, 318 ; 
letters to, 310, 314, 335, 341. 

Gladstone, W. E , 173, 174. 

Gladstone, capacity of leadership, 176. 

Gluck, opera by, 99. 

Gobelin workmen, 169 

Goddard, Mrs. William, 261 ; subjects 
of lectures at her house, 274 ; Theis- 
tic Argument lectures, 334. 

Goethe, 57, 175. 

Good Friday service, 293. 

Granada, 287 

Grecian sects, 44. 

Greece, Isles of, 196 

Greek, study of, 45, 53. 

Greenough, J. C, 257 

Gregory the Great, 184, 196 

Grisi, 102. 

Guizot, taught by new method, 158 ; 
analyze as, 209 ; take facts as, 216. 

Halle, 67. 
Hamburg, 179. 
Hammerlin, Felix, 184. 
Hanover, 64, 81, 179. 
Happiness, sources of, 233. 



Harbor, Bristol, 8. 

Hartford, call from, 116 ; call to, de- 
clined, 121 ; preaching in, 229. 
Harvard Congregational Church, 

Brookline, 131, 140. 
Harvard Univertity, offers from, 235, 

238, 239. 
Hazard, F. R., 202. 
Hazard, Mrs. Rowland, 261. 
Hazard, Rov/land, letter to, 35 ; Adi- 
rondack party, 243 ; on Theistic 
Argument, 330 ; joins vacation party, 
336. 
Hazard, R. G 2d, lecture-book, 217 ; 

recollections by, 223 
Heart, condemned in, 51 
Heber, 127. 
Hebrew, study of, 53. 
Hegel's lectures, 218. 
Heidelberg, 86 ; Bunsen at, 91 
Heinrich der Lowe, 81. 
Henry IV., 267. 

Herbert, Realism examined, 332, 
Herculaneum, 284. 
Herder, 207 
Heresy, savor of, 149. 
Herman, steamer, 62. 
Hesse, elector of, 179. 
Highlands, the, 106. 
" Historicus," 163. 
History as a science, 20 
History of Bristol, 12 
History class, Tuesday morning, 261 ; 
second Tuesday morning, 261 ; Fri- 
day morning, 261. 
History classes, evening, 272. 
History, early French, 155. 
History, instinct with order, 208. 
History of Ancient Philosophy, Ritter, 

44. 
History and Political Economy, chair 

of, in Brown University, 143. 
History, philosophy of, 209 ; value of, 
205 ; science of, 209 ; the record of 
man's career, 214. 
Historical Society, Mass., elected to, 

280. 
Historical Society, R. I., 190. 
Historical studies, nature and value 

of, 204. 
Hitchcock, Dr. Roswell D., 140, 293. 
Holmess, slow progress in, 52. 
Hollis professorship, 235. 
Home influence, 18. 
Home, Providence, 154. 
Home, a happy, 232. 
Homer, 185. 

Honorable dealing, views of, 118. 
Hopkins, Johns, IJniversity, offer of 

professorship in, 304. 
Horse-cars on Sunday, 149. 
House, born in, 7 ; Angell Street, 154. 
House of Commons, 105. 
Household, well ordered, 234 ; his, 
282. 



358 



INDEX. 



Huguenot Church, Charleston, S. C, 

116. 
Human destiny, 125, 342. 
Hunt, a deer, on the Raquette, 243. 
Hurd, J. C, 200. 
Hurst Castle, 80. 
Hursy, Professor, 69. 
Huxley, 326. 

Ideal of aicademic training, 161. 
Ideas, disturbance of, 125. 
Illness, 93 ; last, 345. 
Incarnation, the, 137, 150. 
Inconsistency, no real, 145. 
Independence, personal, 145. 
Infants, reprobate, 186. 
Influence of educated young men, 215. 
Influence of President Wayland, 24. 
Inspiration of the Scriptures, 150. 
Installation at Brookline, 140. 
Institutions, obsolete, 177. 
Intellectual element in Christianity, 

47. 
Interests, highest, 325. 
International law, 222. 
Introductory lecture, 203. 
Invitation to deliver an oration at Ann 

Arbor, 333. 
Irving, Edward, 155. 
Italy, 282. 

Janet's " Final Causes," 326, 

Jerusalem, Mother of us all, 194. 

John Cotton's Answer to Roger Wil- 
liams, 157. 

Johns Hopkins University, lectures at, 
317 ; oft'er of professorship, 304. 

Johnson, Reverdy, 322. 

Johnson, Samuel, 205. 

Jonah, the prophet, 159. 

Jones', Augustine, 274. 

Journal, Foreign, 62. 

Journal, Providence Daily, writes for, 
171. 

Julius II., portrait of, 263. 

Justification, Barclay's Apology, 115. 

Kant, study of, 70. 

Kaulbach, Destruction of Jerusalem, 

85. 
Kenilworth, 106, 
Kent, James, 200. 
Kindergarten, 190. 
King Philip, steamer, 7. 
King's Chapel, preaching in, 316. 
Kirk's Charles the Bold, 200. 
Kugler's Handbook, study of, 100. 

Laeoes, blessing of God upon, 110 
Labor frittered away, 295. 
Lacordaire, 201. 
Lake Michigan, tapping the bottom 

of, 160. 
Last lecture, 345. 
Last term in college, 39. 



Latin composition, 19. 

Latin reading, 27. 

Latitudinarian, 149. 

Law and grace, 122. 

Law, international, 290. 

Lecture, historical basis of belief, 238. 

Lecture, introductory, 203. 

Lectures, 70. 

Lectures, English, 294. 

Lectures, evening, 154. 

Lectures at the Friends' School, 272. 

Lectures, Rothe, 87, 

Lectures at State Normal School, 257. 

Lectures, subjects of, at Mrs. God- 
dard's, 274. 

Lehuerou, 262. 

Leibnitz, 81, 198. 

Leo, Professor, 70. 

Leonardo, 219, 262. 

Leonardo's Mona Lisa, 263. 

Lepsius, 94. 

Letter from the Arlington Street 
Church, Boston, 256. 

Letter to Horace Bushnell, 118, 121 ; 
to Byron Diman, 74 ; to Henry W. 
Diman, 143 ; to Miss T. Emerson, 
230 ; to Rowland Hazard, 35 ; to 
Thomas Shepard, 112. 

Letters, 35 ; value of, 194. 

Letters from Horace Bushnell, 116, 
118, 119. 

Letters to J. B. Angell, 42, 46, 50, 52, 
55, 157, 161, 199, 202, 228, 235, 237, 
238, 242, 254, 257, 259, 268, 276, 278, 
281, 289, 292, 293, 294, 295, 304, 309, 
310, 311, 316, 333, 336, 343. 

Letters to Mrs. Diman, 282, 319 ; to 
C. W. Eliot, 236, 238 ; to Rufus Ellis, 
141, 292; to D. C. Gilman, 310, 314, 
335, 341; to Augustus Lowell, 313, 
315 ; to J. O. Murray, 37, 110, 114, 
122, 130, 155; to Miss Emily G. 
Stimson, 109, 113, 124; to.E. G. 
Stimson, passages from, 125-129. 

Library, Gov. Diman's, 10. 

License to preach, 108. 

Life, college, spiritual advantages of, 
46. 

Life, hardest thing about a minister's, 
51. 

Life of a pastor, 45. 

Life, retired, 46; ripened, 347. 

Leipsic, 74. 

Lincoln, Professor J. L., 260 ; recollec- 
tions by, 32 ; club meeting, 295 ; on 
club evenmgs, 290. 

Lincoln's Inn, Maurice at, 103. 

Liverpool, 306. 

Loch Katrine, 106. 

Logical clearness, 152. 

Logos, the, 72. 

Logos in the flesh, 87. 

London, 103, 288. 

Loneliness, 42. 

Loomis, Henry, 88. 



INDEX. 



359 



Lord John Russell, 105. 

Lords, House of, 176. 

Louvre, gallery of, 103. 

Love, yearning love for men, 134. 

Lowell, Augustus, 325 ; letter to, 313, 

315. 
Lowell Institute lectures, twelve, 333. 
Luther, 20, 196. 
Luther, Hannah, 3. 
Luther's room in the Wartburg, 101. 

Macaxjlat, 20. 

Macdonald, George, 201. 

Madonna (Sistine), 84, 263. 

Madrid, 286. 

Magdeburg, 67. 

Maine, 200. 

Maiden, 185 

Malone, Rev. Mr., visit to reformato- 
ries, etc., with, 114. 

Man, a social animal, 51 ; the ideal, 
87 ; owes the commonwealth a debt, 
194. 

Manner, dignity of, 59 ; in the pulpit, 
123 ; in private lectures, 264. 

Manner of lecturing, 225. 

Manning Hall, lectures in, 343. 

Manuscript, without, 321. 

Mario, 102. 

Marriage, 131. 

Material, historical, new, 316. 

Matriculation at Halle, 68 ; at Heidel- 
berg, 86 ; at University of Berlin, 94. 

Maurice, sermon by, 103. 

MediiEval institutions, 217. 

Meditating upon truth, 113. 

Meeting house, 16. 

Melrose, 106. 

Memoirs, 21. 

Mercer St. Presbyterian Church, New 
York, 116, 140. 

Metaphysical studies, 28. 

Metternich, 343. 

Mexico, 182. 

Michael Angelo, 219. 

Mill, J. Stuart, 326. 

Millenarians, 126. 

Mind, elastic habit of, 327. 

Minister, discouragements and sup- 
ports of a, 45. 

Ministry, success in, 292. 

Missionaries, Jesuit, 61. 

Mittermaier, 87. 

Modem history, 217. 

Modem society, tendencies of, 233. 

Montaigne, 205, 267. 

Mont Cenis Tunnel, 283. 

Monthly Rehgious Magazine, 140. 

Moral philosophy, 34. 

More, Henry, 57. 

Motley, J. L., 200, 221, 316. 

Mount Hope, 1. 

Mailer, Dr. Julius, Christian doctrine 
of sin, 43, 69 ; as a lecturer, 72 ; on 
dogmatics, 70. 



Munich, 84. 

Murillo, 85. 

Murray, J. 0., 46 ; at Andover, 51, 54, 
58 ; Adirondack party, 243 ; letters 
to, 37, 110, 114, 122, 130, 155 ; visit 
to, 276 ; joins vacation party, 336 ; 
letter to J. B. AngeU, 337. 

Music, harmonies of, 196. 

Mysticism, 137. 

Mythologies, ancient, 44. 

Naples, 284. 

Napoleon III., 180, 342. 

Napoleon's defeats, 81. 

Narragansett Club, publications of, 
162, 279. 

Nation, The, first contribution to, 309. 

National debt, lecture on, 202. 

National development, 191. 

NatiArity, Church of the, 196. 

Nature, man's normal, 135. 

Nestorian Church, 61. 

New England divinity, 141. 

New England theology, 60. 

New Englauder, articles in, 61, 254. 

Newcastle, 106. 

Newport, 42, 50. 

"New School," 149. 

Newspaper-writing, 194. 

New Year's, 192. 

Niagara, steamer, 105. 

Nicene creed, 150. 

Nigretti and Zambra, 249. 

Nineteenth Century lectures, 341. 

Nitzsch, 95 ; sermon by, 99. 

Normal School, 257 ; American His- 
tory, 323 ; Constitutional History, 
335. 

North American, editors of, 305. 

North Sea, 64. 

Note book, 19. 

Notre Dame, Paris, 101. 

Nuremberg, 84. 

Obedience, Christ's life of, 133. 

Objections to study of history, 211. 

Ocean, 63. 

Offer from Cambridge declined, 238. 

Offer from University of Wisconsin, 
241 ; from Princeton, 255 ; from 
Second Chiu-ch, Boston, 292. 

Offer of historical professorship in Har- 
vard, 239. 

Offer of professorship in John Hop- 
kins University, 304. 

Offers from Harvard University, 235. 

" God, mein Schdpfer,'' 88. 

Oldenburg, 179. 

" Old School," 149. 

Old South Church, Boston, 108. 

"0 Lord Creator," 88. 

Opinion, public, shapes, 194. 

Opinions, modified, 12G. 

Opponents, views of, 183. 

Oration at Amherst, 228; at Cam- 



360 



INDEX. 



bridge, 303 ; on Capture of Prescott, 
308 ; on Roger Williams, 309. 

Oration, classical, 32, 42. 

Oration, Fourth of July, 156. 

Oration, Settlement of Mt. Hope, 337. 

Ordained as pastor. Fall River, 109. 

Organic unity of human race, 206. 

Orpheus and Eurydice, Opera, 99. 

Ossian, 185. 

Oxford, University of, 174. 

Paxmeeston, 105. 

Pantheism, 44, 

Papers, foreign, 179. 

Paradox, fondness for, 300. 

Paris, 101. 

Park, Professor, 58, 147. 

Parker, Theodore, Sermons, 128. 

" Parrots," 224. 

Pascal, 113. 

Pascal, Jaqueline, 126. 

Pascal's Provincial Letters, 128. 

Past, reverence for the, 78. 

Pastoral cares, 110. 

Patience of an audience, 321. 

Paul Tholuck on doctrine of, 79. 

Paul Veronese, 84. 

Peabody, Dr. A. P., 292. 

Peace Congress, 102. 

Pearson, 201. 

Peel, Sir Robert, 174. 

Persons deserving of help, 167. 

Perugino, 85. 

Phalaris, epistles of, 175. 

Phi Beta Kappa oration at Amherst, 
228 ; at Cambridge, 303. 

Philadelphia, church in, 140. 

Philosophy, study of, 44. 

Philosophy, Erdmann on History of, 
70. 

Philosophy of History, 207. 

Pictures, modern, 277. 

Piety, superior, 51. 

Piuacothek, Munich, 84. 

Plan of redemption, 134. 

Plan of private lectures, 261. 

Plato, 72. 

Playing-cards, 266. 

Pleurisy, 63. 

Plutarch, 205. 

Political duty, 339. 

Political economy, 200 ; lectures on, 

201. 
Politics, English, 173. 
Pompeii, 284. 
Portsmouth, R. I., 308. 
Position, denominational, not easily 

defined, 256. 
Positions, some, not bear examination, 

329 
Post,'w. H., 278. 
Post-office, 16. 
Practical duties, 45. 
Prayer meeting, 48. 
Prayer meeting, Berlin, 95, 99. 



Preaching, with some, too little a life, 
47 ; ought to be lyrical, 124 ; under 
peculiar circumstances, 255. 

Preparation of lectures at Baltimore, 
320. 

President's Premium, 32. 

Pressure from an earnest class, 256. 

Princeton, call to, 255. 

Private class under Professor Chace, 
28. 

Private classes, 259. 

Problems, educational, 190 ; grappled 
by reason, 331. 

Procession of students, 71. 

Procession, impressive, 312. 

Profession, scholastic side of, 46. 

Professor, a true, 198. 

Progress, human, 126. 

Proposition from Dr. Bushnell, 117. 

Providence Daily Journal, 171. 

Providence home, 153. 

Prussia, 178; king of, 178. 

Pulpit, manner in, 123. 

Punch, 177. 

Puritans, 234. 

Puritanism, 146. 

Quakers, 280. 
Queen Caroline, 81. 
Questions of the soul, 125. 
Quotations, 22. 

Ragged schools, London, 105. 

Raindeer, bark, 63. 

Rainy days, 15. 

Ranke on Middle Ages, 94. 

Raphael, 85, 202. 

Read, Judge, 165. 

Reading, the year's, 25 ; careful hab- 
its of, 26. 

Recitations, 223 ; in college, 33. 

Recollections by Miss A. F. Alden, 9 ; 
Dr. L. W. Bacon, 59; Dr. S. L. 
Caldwell, 298 ; Professor G. I. 
Chace, 28 ; Mrs. C. D DeWolf, 14 ; 
Mrs. A. M. Eaton, 260 ; Professor G. 
P. Fisher, 144; Professor William 
Gammell, 30; R. G. Hazard, 2d, 
223; Professor J. L. Lincoln, 32; 
Judge H. B. Staples, 28 ; Dr. C. C. 
Tiffany, 77 ; Dr. J G. Vose, 57 ; Miss 
B. T. Wmg, 272. 

Record in college, 33. 

Records, town, 12. 

Redemption, plan of, 134. 

Reformation, lectures on the, 199. 

Reformatory, London, 105. 

Reform school, 306. 

Relation of history to political train- 
ing, 214. 

Relations, disagreeable, with denomi- 
nation, 144. 

Religion, profession of, 12 ; sectarian, 
in public schools, 188 ; in America, 
297. 



INDEX. 



361 



" Religion in America," 147. 

Renaissance, 219. 

Report, official, 322. 

Representatives, House of, adjourned, 
346. 

Republicans, 76. 

Responsibility of being qualified for 
public duty, 204. 

Results lie hid from our inspection, 
169. 

Reticence, 171. 

Reuchlin, 220. 

Revelation, 210 ; great fact of, 132. 

Review in honor of the peace, 102. 

Reviews for the "Journal," 183. 

Revival among academy students, 56. 

Revival of letters, 220. 

Rhode Island, 58 ; compliment to, 89 ; 
artists, 182 ; Hospital, trustee of, 307. 

Rider, S. S., 308 ; secures MS., 309. 

Ritter, 96. 

Ritter, History of Ancient Philoso- 
phy, 44. 

Ritualism, 188. 

Robertson's sermons, 127. 

Roediger, Professor, 71. 

Roediger, Christmas Eve with, 73. 

Roger Williams Address, 308. 

Roger Williams, Cotton's Answer to, 
157. 

Rogers, Robert, 13, 190. 

Rogers Free Library, 14. 

Romanism, 127. 

Rome, 285. 

" Rose Farm," 154. 

Rothe lectures, 87. 

Rousseau, confessions, 290. 

Royston, sermon at, 106. 

Rubens, 85. 

Rugby, 106. 

Russia, 74. 

Sabbath, season of high enjoyment, 

109. 
Sabbath School, 110. 
Sack, family (Brunswick), 65. 
Sacrifices, worldly, 52. 
Sailed for Europe, 62. 
Salem, meeting at, 108. 
Saracenic architecture, 297. 
Saranac lakes, 252. 
Saturday questions, 218. 
Saxony, 178. 
Schiller, 57. 
Sohoferlein, 86. 
School examination, 66. 
Schools in Bristol, 18. 
Schwartz on doctrine of Paul, 70. 
Science, modern, tendency of, 331. 
Scott, Sir Walter, 186. 
Scruples, no anxiety to satisfy, 148. 
Sears, President, of Brown University, 

Seclusion, no room for, 194, 
Sect, mouthpiece of a, 292. 



Sects, Grecian, 44. 

Sedan, surrender at, 181. 

Self, forgetfulness of, 48. 

Seminary (Andover), 44. 

Seminary, influence on character, 47 ; 

life, 53 ; spirituality in the, 53 ; room 

in, 54; plan for leaving, at end of 

second year, 55 ; hiU exposure, 60. 
Sense, historical, 146. 
Sentences, cadence of, 123 ; rounded, 

194. 
Sentiments, fraternal, 141. 
Serfs, Russian, condition of, 75. 
Sermon, first, 96 ; first, preached, 106 ; 

"What is truth," 128; on future 

punishment, 151. 
Sermons, habits in, 123 ; considered 

unorthodox, 143. 
" Sermons in Storms," 166. 
Seville, 288. 

Sexes, educating together, 289. 
Shakespeare, 23. 

Shawmut Street Church, Boston, 116. 
Sheffield, W. P., 346. 
SheUey, 23. 

Shepard, Thomas, letter to, 112. 
Simon, D. W., 68, 87; talk with, 87; 

at Royston, 106. 
Simonides manuscript, 98. 
Sioultaneous courses of lectures, 271. 
Singan-fu, monument of, 61. 
Skiff, a Saranac, 245. 
Slavery, 36. 
Smith, Goldwin, 204. 
Society, enjoyment of, 297. 
Son of Man, 136. 
Sorbonne, lecture at the, 103. 
Soul, questions of the, 230 ; needs of 

the, for growth, 114. 
Sovereignty, theory of, 200. 
Spain, 286. 
Spanish artists, 297. 
Speech acknowledging degree of D. 

D., 241. 
Spencer, Herbert, 326. 
Spirit, prayerful, 47 ; doctrine of, 134 ; 

cooler, 331. 
Spirits, highest order of, 124. 
Spiritual element in Christianity, 47. 
Spiritual torpor, 115. 
Spooner, Henry J., 346. 
Sports, out-door, 10. 
Springfield, church in, 140. 
State of mind, 125. 
Statement, diverg'encies of, 138. 
Statements of Cotton and Williams, 

analysis of, 162. 
Statements, startling, 266. 
Statesman, modern, 342. 
Stein, 343. 
Stimson, Miss Emily G., letters to, 

109, 113, 124-129 : married, 131. 
Stimson, John J., death of, 129. 
Stimson, Miss Maria R., death of, 109. 
Stowe, Professor, 53, 69. 



362 



INDEX. 



strain, heavenly, 196. 

Strain of work, 333. 

Stratford, 106. 

Strauss, 72, 97 ; on the Evangelical 
Alliance, 99. 

Student days, 59. 

Student, Russian, 74. 

Students, theological, 46. 

Studies, class, monotony of, 57. 

Study of history, claims for the Ameri- 
can student, 204. 

Study, pleasant room, 327. 

Subjects, variety of, 195. 

Sugar, 266. 

Sunday afternoon, 17. 

Sunday cars, 1C5. 

Supper, farewell, 77. 

Swedenborgians, 126. 

Sykes, Rev. James N., 19. 

System, voluntary, 189. 

Talker, a good, 298. 

Talleyrand, 343. 

Taxation, lecture on, 202. 

Taylor, 147. 

Teacher of the church, 185. 

Tendencies of modem society, 233. 

Thanksgiving, 192 ; in Boston, 157 ; 
reflections, 232. 

Thayer, Dr. Thatcher, 40, 42, 43, 46, 
47, 48, 50 ; at club meetings, 294. 

Theistic Argument, 325 ; G. P. Fisher 
on, 325; G. I. Chace on, 328; R. 
Hazard on, 330. 

The Nation and the Constitution, 156. 

Theologians, hair-splitting, 57. 

Theology, 40 ; New England, 60 ; in- 
terest in, 72. 

Thirty Years' War, 268, 314. 

Thirty Years' War lectures, 317. 

Tholuck, Professor, 68 ; tea with, 69 ; 
on life of Christ, 70 ; on doctrine of 
Paul, 70 ; as a preacher, 71 ; con- 
versation with , 72. 

Tholuck, Mrs., 73. 

Thomas a Kempis, 220. 

Thomas of Celano, 184. 

Thursday lecture, 142. 

Tiffany, Dr. C C. , recollections by, 77 ; 
in Providence, 291. 

Tischendorf, 66. 

Titian, 84. 

Travel, European, 50. 

Trendelenburg, 94 ; call on, 96 ; tea 
with, 9G ; conversation on political 
theories, 98. 

Trials of a pastor's life, 47. 

Trout-fishing, 336. 

Trustees, mode of electing, 161. 

Truth, statement of, 138. 

Tuesday morning History class, 260. 

Tuileries, 180. 

Tuileries garden, 101. 

Turner, slave ship, 277, 

Tyndall, 326. 



Ulm, 86. 

Umbreit, 89. 

Unitarian churches, 148. 

Unitarian parishes, 255. 

Unitarian in no distinctive sense, 257. 

Unitarians, sympathy with, 134. 

Unites with First Church oi Bristol, 25. 

Unity, struggle after, 87 ; of the race, 
203. 

University of Berlin, 94. 

University, Brown, 19 ; accepts pro- 
fessorship in, 253 ; of HaUe, 68 ; 
Heidelberg, 86. 

University Hall, dreaming in, 344. 

University, Harvard, offers from, 235, 

University, Johns Hopkins, offers 
from, 304. 

University of Vermont, 241, 

University of Wisconsin, offer from, 
241. 

Unworthiness, conviction of, 52. 

Vacation in Maine woods, 336. 
Valencia, 287. 

Vatke on history of theology, 94. 
Venice, 285. 
Vesuvius, 284. 
Vico, 207, 

View, unorthodox, 132. 
Visit to Hartford, 120. 
Voice, well-pitched, 123. 
Von Raumer, 97, 262. 
Vose, Dr. James Gardiner, recollec- 
tions by, 57. 
Voyage, 79 ; second, 282, 
Vroom, U. S, Minister, at Berlin, 100. 

Wagnee, Johanna, 99, 

Waisenhaus, Halle, 76. 

Waite, Clarendon, 58. 

Walking, in Switzerland, 93. 

Walpole, Sir Robert, 205. 

Walton, 251. 

Walton's Angler, 243. 

War, 75 ; Franco-Prussian, 179. 

Ward meeting, speech at, 339. 

Wartbiirg, 101. 

Warwick, 106. 

Waterloo, 101. 

Wayland, President, 40 ; influence of, 

24 ; training under, 146. 
Weapons, created consternation, 332. 
Webster, 195. 
Weimar, 100. 
Westminster Abbey, 282. 
Whale fishery, 159. 
Wharf in Bristol, 11. 
Whately's Kingdom of Christ, 23. 
Wigglesworth, Edward, 256. 
Wigglesworth, Michael, 185, 187. 
Wight, Abbey Alden, 5. 
Willeston, L. R., 93. 
Williams, Roger, Cotton's Answer to, 

157 ; religion and civil power, 163; 

address at monument to, 309. 



INDEX. 



363 



Willis' rooms, meeting at, 104. 

Windermere, lOG. 

Wing, IVIiss B. T., recollections by, 

272. 
Witte, Professor, 69 ; tea with, 72. 
Wittenberg, 100. 
Wolfenbiittel, 82. 
Women, friendship with, 23. 
Woolsey, President, 222. 
Work, Christ's, not completed by His 

death, 133. 



Work, full of consolations. 111 ; lies 
in front, 193; pressure of, 326 J 
with ease, 333. 

Worship, family, 48. 

XlMEITES, 220. 

Year, close of, 73. 

York, 106. 

Young, Edward J., 21, 68. 



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